


Titans Archives: Raven

by DCUnitedFanfics



Series: Titans Archives [1]
Category: Constantine: The Hellblazer (Comics), Hellblazer, Justice League Dark (2017), Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020), Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016), Teen Titans (Comics), Titans (Comics)
Genre: Bisexual John Constantine, Body Horror, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Drama, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Origin Story, Psychological Horror, Raven and Damian Meet Again, Raven-centric, Series, Supernatural Elements, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:20:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26039332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DCUnitedFanfics/pseuds/DCUnitedFanfics
Summary: Taking place in a different timeline after the Flash went back to reset everything. After Azarath was attacked by demons, 16-year-old Rachel Roth is placed in the care of John Constantine. However, adjusting to her new life outside of Azarath is not as easy as it looks, from butting heads with John Constantine, from meeting new people, to trying to control her recently discovered abilities. But as a dark threat nears, Rachel must learn to use her powers with John's help before the demons get to her.
Relationships: John Constantine & Raven, John Constantine/King Shark, John Constantine/Zatanna Zatara, Raven & Victor Stone, Raven/Damian Wayne, Sarah Simms/Victor Stone
Series: Titans Archives [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1890193
Comments: 11
Kudos: 64





	1. Prologue

**To be clear, this is not a full-on Teen Titans team-up story. This is more of a coming of age, father-daughter relationship horror story. Raven and John Constantine are the main focus of the story. Other characters like Damian Wayne, Nightwing, Cyborg, Zatanna, Batman and a few other characters will be introduced but they're not the main focus of the story. Damian will be introduced in Chapter 8 and then forward on since the tag mentions he and Raven meet again for the first time.**

**Please leave some love and some feedback with your thoughts on the story. I really appreciate it. Thank you. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters.**

* * *

**Temple of Azarath**

**July 18, 1964**

**Kyoto, Japan**

“No, please, leave her to me!” a woman screams at the top of her lungs as men in purple robes hold her back while one of them yanks the wailing baby wrapped in white wool. The woman drops the knife she gripped in her hand and reaches for the baby. “Please, let me put her out of her misery! I’m trying to save her!”

The man cradles the baby. A small and pale little thing. Anyone can tell she had just been born three days ago. The baby returns to her slumber and is given to a woman who is also dressed in the same coloured garments as the men. 

“Mother Harumi, take her inside and clean her,” he says, “She must be freezing.” 

The lady bows her head. “Yes, Father Torao,” she says before taking the child inside the Temple of Azarath.

“You don’t understand, Father!” the mother continues to scream. “She does not know what she is! We don’t know what she’ll grow up to be! I’m trying to save her!”

Father Torao turns to glare at her. “You think taking her life will save her? You are mistaken, Angela. This is a place of peace, not violence. We took you in and tried to help you but you broke our sacred law.” 

“This will no longer be a place of peace if she lives.” 

Father Torao proceeds to glare before turning away. “Get her out of here. Take her away. Far away. Make sure she never comes back.” 

Angela is dragged away from the temple, her heels skidding across marble ground. She kicks and screams, trying to thrash away from her grasp. “No, Rachel! Rachel! Give her back!” 

Once they are gone, Father Torao returns to the temple. In his office, he finds Mother Harumi standing near the fireplace, drying some of the rain from the baby’s face and keeping her warm. The baby remains undisturbed. Her hair black as raven wings, just like her mother. 

Mother Harumi cradles the baby gently. A small smile creeps up her face. However, her smile disappears when she sees Father Torao enter. She sighs in disappointment. “What a cold-hearted woman. I can’t believe she would do this. Was she really going to kill the baby, Father Torao?”

“I’m afraid she’s not in her right mind, Mother Harumi.” 

“She could be right though,” she says, “Maybe there is something wrong with the child. When she was born, the blood she was covered in was not red but black. And her cries were unnatural and inhuman. She could be dangerous to our home. We all know who her father is. She could become like him. But one can’t be so heartless.” 

“More reasons to protect her. She is one of us now. She no longer belongs to that demon. And she must never know who her father is.” 

Mother Harumi looks at him surprised. “Keep secrets from the child? I don’t think it’s a good idea. If she finds out what she is and who her father is, it will crush her. Or worse, it will awaken something evil.” 

“No evil will touch this sacred place. As long as she remains here, she will never know.” 

“…May I care for her then, Father Torao?” 

“Do you wish to burden yourself caring for a child, Mother Harumi?”

“Well, she needs a mother. And I’m her nurse. If you wish for her to be one of us, she needs to be raised by one of us. And who better to do it than me?”

“If that’s what you wish,” he says. “Very well.”

Mother Harumi smiles down at the baby and kisses her head. “You’ll be all right. I’ll never let anything happen to you. You’re safe. My dear little raven bird.” 


	2. Black Waters

“ _Azarath_. _Metrion_. _Zinthos_. That is the mantra you must all use to maintain your centre during meditation,” Mother Harumi says while facing the students dressed in dark purple robes. Some of them stare with intrigue. Some stare with a bored expression on their faces. And some look half asleep. It’s 8 in the morning. Of course, they would look tired. “Azarath is the name of our own dimension. Metrion represents _balance_. Zinthos represents _peace_. Remember that.”

“Yes, Mother Harumi,” the kids say together.

Two boys with cleaned shaved heads poke each other, giggling. Mother Harumi frowns in annoyance. She claps her hands loudly. Startled, the two boys stop giggling and sit up straight. 

The children are all of the ages between 9 and 18. Children below the age of 9 are more difficult to teach meditation as they have slightly shorter attention spans, according to Mother Harumi and Father Torao.

“All right, everyone get into a siddhasana position and we will start meditating.”

However, Mother Harumi notices something is amiss. She counts all the students. There’s supposed to be 43 students in the meditation room. There are only 42 students present. The flat orange mat in the back corner remains empty and untouched. She’s one student short. And she knows who it is. This is the fourth time that child missed class this month. 

Mother Harumi sighs tiredly. “Where’s Rachel?”

* * *

Water flows over the chunky grey slates and slides down into a large clear pool with moss-covered rocks at the bottom. White and orange fishes swim beneath the water. 15-year-old Rachel sits on the soft green grass at the edge of the pond, her legs folded beneath her body, her hands rested on her thighs and her soft black hair tied back in a bun to make sure it’s not blown into her face by the wind. 

Rachel enjoys the peace and tranquility of Azarath’s lake. Hearing the sound of the water falling and the occasional chirping of birds. Better than having to sit in the same classroom full of kids that would interrupt her meditation with giggles and whispers. Not to mention the constant ticking sound of the clock breaking her concentration. It can be an annoyance at times. She knows she’s probably missing Mother Harumi’s lessons but she prefers meditating in an open space.

Rachel takes a deep and closes her eyes. “Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos,” she whispers to herself. “Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos.”

This is her place of peace. If only she can sleep here instead of sleeping in her room, where she suffers constant nightmares. It has been getting worse with each year. She has discussed these nightmares with Mother Harumi and Father Torao. They said it’s nothing to worry about but Rachel is able to tell by the look on their faces that their lying. They know something she doesn’t. _Mother Azarath protect me and my siblings_.

She’s meditating here, hoping that this tranquil ambience might diminish her nightmares.

“ _Akumu_ …”

There it is again. That name. _Akumu_. She’s been hearing that name being whispered into her ear since she was five years old. At night when she tries to sleep. And sometimes during the day when she least expects it. _Akumu_. Meaning _Nightmare_. She has heard of the name before, but doesn’t remember where. But it frightens her. At first, she thought it was the other kids trying to scare her but after a while, she doesn’t think that anymore.

“ _Akumu_ …”

The voice whispers louder, as if getting closer. Gasping, Rachel opens her eyes and whips her head around to see who’s out there. As always, there’s no one there. If there’s anyone ducking behind the trees and shrubs, she would have sensed their presence. But nothing. Yet, she keeps hearing the voice as if it’s there.

Rachel sighs and tries to recover concentration. “It’s all in my head. It’s all in my head.”

She closes her eyes and proceeds to meditate. “Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos. Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos.”

“ _Akumu_ …”

She hears the voice again. A dark growl. Louder this time. As if the voice is in front of her.

Rachel opens her eyes and she gasps. 

A terrifying face stares back at her. Its face having the colour of blood, long white hair resembling cotton, blank round eyes the size of saucers and three long horns sticking out of its head like that of a deer. The face grins its sharp yellow teeth at him with malice. Rachel stares at the creature, her face turning pale and her eyes widening in terror.

An oni. Here, in Azarath. _No, it can’t be_. They’re not supposed to be here. They’re supposed to be trapped in their own dimension. How did one end up here in Azarath? _I need to tell Mother Harumi_. 

As she tries to scramble back, the oni reaches out and places its thumb on top of Rachel’s forehead.

Rachel gasps and leans her head back, her brown eyes turning yellow as gold and her face gaining a slightly red tint.

Visions flash in her head. Sights of an earthquake killing 12 people. A flood and a landslide devastated a region. Miners being killed in an explosion. Planes crash, killing more than 100 people. Train crashes. Bombings. More floods. More earthquakes. Mother killing their children. Husbands killing their wives. Deaths. Devastating. Mournful screams. Evil. Yellow eyes. Red faces. Rachel bathing in a pool of blood, eyes black and giggling maliciously. She doesn’t look like herself. Her eyes resemble the oni, red-faced and white-haired. _What is this? What is happening to me?_ What is this demon showing me?

“Rachel!”

She opens her eyes upon hearing Mother Harumi calling her name. She suddenly finds herself being pulled out of the pond by Father Torao and Brother Shiro. Both of them looking terrified and concerned. Rachel looks at them in confusion. Her heart races rapidly and her breathing is shallow.

Rachel gets pulled onto the shore. Mother Harumi quickly rushes to her side and puts a blanket over her. Rachel hyperventilates slightly, as she is shocked from what she just saw.

“Karasu, what happened?” Mother Harumi asks. She always calls Rachel by that nickname.

Shaking in fear, Rachel clings onto her and whimpers. “It was awful, Mother,” she sniffles. “It was an oni.”

“An oni?” Mother Harumi says. “What are you saying?”

“There was an oni right in front of me and it showed me horrible things. It was horrifying, Mother. I thought I was drowning.”

“You were floating in the middle of the pond,” Brother Shiro says, “Of course you were about to drown.”

“Shiro, not now,” Father Torao says harshly before looking back at Rachel. “An oni. Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more certain, Father,” she says in a trembling voice, “It was right in front of me. It was the most terrifying thing I ever saw. I smelled its sulfur-scented breath. And it touched my head. It was real. I know it was. It kept whispering the same word to me.”

Father Torao frowns. “What word?”

“It…it kept saying _Akumu_. It called me Akumu.”

Rachel soon notices something in Father Torao’s face. It had turned pale and his eyes seem to be full of fear as well.

“Harumi, get her back to her room and make sure she stays there for the rest of the day. We’ll check the premises and see if any of the portals have been opened for the past 24 hours.”

“Yes, Father. Come, Karasu, let us go.” Mother Harumi puts her arm around Rachel’s shoulder and leads her away from the pond.

Rachel looks back, however. Her eyes widen upon seeing the water had turned ink black and the fish now float dead on the surface.

She turns to Mother Harumi in horror. “Did I do that?”

“Don’t look,” Mother Harumi tugs her away.

Rachel can’t help but look every now and then. Now, she can’t get the demon’s face or the images of her head.

* * *

“Are you sure Sister Rachel saw a demon, Father?” Brother Shiro asks as he walks alongside with Father Torao on their way to the Chamber of Gates. “She could be wrong. Or lying. She’s never been right in the head, you know.”

“I believe Sister Rachel is very sane. She’s simply been tormented by nightmares for many years,” Father Torao says calmly.

“But those nightmares have brought disaster to the human world.”

Father Torao sighs. _Must he bring that up again?_ “Not every disaster in history is Rachel’s fault. Would you also blame her for World War I and World War II, when her fetus didn’t even exist at the time?”

“All I’m saying is that many of those _coincidences_ have become more frequent. What will happen if these _coincidences_ get worse?”

“They won’t. As long as Rachel remains here and unaware of her heritage, things will be all right.”

“But that’s the thing, Father. How will Rachel react once she finds out about her father?”

Father Torao knows that Brother Shiro is right. There’s no telling how Rachel will react if she finds out the truth. He and Mother Harumi have been so focused on keeping the secret hidden that he did not consider how this will affect her. She is the daughter of the evilest being in the universe. A destroyer of worlds. A creature that can destroy Azarath with just the snap of his fingers. Yet, Father Torao’s main concern is Rachel. Despite who her father is, she is innocent. Even Mother Harumi seems more concerned for Rachel than her own home.

Since the day of her birth, they promised to protect the child at all costs and they must keep that promise, for everyone’s sake.

Once arriving at the Chamber of Worlds, they check every portal that leads to the different worlds, including the one to Kyoto on main Earth. And the demon world. However, none of the portals have been opened recently. It makes Father Torao wonder if Brother Shiro is right. Perhaps it was just Rachel losing her sanity. If so, they must be cautious.

* * *

Rachel and Mother Harumi sit around the table, eating fish-shaped bread stuffed with sweetened bean paste. Rachel smiles slightly as she takes another bite. Taiyaki bread has always been her favourite treat. Well, second favourite. Her favourite are still the Marble Chocolates she keeps hidden under her bed mat.

Rachel sighs and drinks her tea. She hates being locked up this way but she doesn’t seem to have any choice at the moment. After what happened at the lake, Rachel has now been feeling tired and light-headed. She hoped the tea would calm her nerves, but her hands still tremble. Even Mother Harumi seems to be frightened by the event.

“Would you like to talk about what happened?” Mother Harumi says gently.

“I already said what happened?” Rachel speaks softly before sipping her tea.

“Are you sure what you saw was real?”

“You may believe I’ve lost my mind. But I know what I saw.”

“You said the demon was showing you visions. Would you like to tell me about them?”

Rachel shakes her head. “I rather not talk about it.”

Mother Harumi holds her head. “Talking will make you feel better.”

“…It showed me many things. Floods. Earthquakes. People dying. It was so sad and awful. And then there was this gate…”

“A gate?”

“Yes.”

“To where?”

“I don’t know. But the gate glowed a blood red and I kept hearing the same voice calling _Akumu_. But I don’t know who Akumu is.”

Mother Harumi remains silent for a moment. “I don’t know… But remember, demons are tricksters. They lie. Whatever that thing showed you, it’s probably false. They’ll do anything to hurt you.”

“But why would it come to me? Is it because I’m weak?”

“No, you’re not weak.”

“Then, why attack me? I’m so confused. And scared.”

“You shouldn’t be scared.”

“It attacked me in my time of peace and it showed me things I don’t understand. I want to understand but at the same time, I’m too scared to understand.”

“Sometimes, it’s best if you don’t understand. There are some things that one should never know.”

“But…what if in order to destroy evil, I must understand it.”

Rachel watches Harumi press her lips together. What is she thinking?

Harumi then smiles at her. “Hey, let’s not talk about such things. Let’s try to enjoy our tea. All right?”

“I don’t know how I will enjoy my tea now.”

“…I have something for you.”

Rachel looks up at her, eyes blinking curiously. “What is it?”

Harumi smiles and reaches into her robe. “I was going to save this for your birthday next week but I thought you might like to have it today.”

Rachel’s eyes lighten when Harumi pulls out a ruby pendant necklace surrounded by iron framework. A broad smile crosses Rachel’s face as she reaches for the necklace and takes it.

“Mother, it’s beautiful!”

Harumi smiles as well. “I knew you would love it. The jewel is made of pure ruby. It will protect you from evil. Father Torao helped me pick it out in Tokyo.”

“Can I wear it on my birthday?” she asks.

“Oh…Um, I thought you would wear it today.”

“Well, yes, but didn’t you say that Father Torao helped you pick it out? Wouldn’t he be upset if he found out you ruined the surprise?”

“Hmm. Maybe you’re right.” Harumi smiles and pets her head. “Look at you. All growing up and smart. I remember you were just a small bundle in my arms. You almost never cried. And that scared me sometimes.”

“But when I did cry, I was quite loud,” Rachel says.

Harumi giggles and nods. “Indeed. I wanted you to stay a baby forever so I can always hold you.”

“…Do you think my mom would have wanted to hold me?” Rachel asks meekly. “If she was still alive, I mean.”

Harumi’s smile falls slightly and she sighs. “Um, I’m sure she would have.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful.”

Harumi takes her hand. “No, I’m sorry. You have every right to ask about your mother.”

“What was she like?”

“Well, she was a lot like you. Smart. Strong. Beautiful. However, I always thought she wouldn’t make for a good mother. She wouldn’t take care of her body while having you. Always drinking and smoking. That’s why you were born so small.”

“And is that why she died while giving birth to me?”

“Yes, but let’s not worry about that now. The important thing is that you’re here and you have use looking after you.”

Rachel smiles a little and hugs Harumi tightly. “Thank you, Mother…Can we sing the song?”

“Which one?”

“You know which one.”

“Well, all right. Come closer, my child.”

Rachel gets closer to Harumi’s side and rests her head on her lap. Harumi gently rakes her fingers through Rachel’s black bangs.

“ _Mori mo iyagaru, Bon kara saki-nya_ ,” Harumi sings softly, like she used to do when she cradled three-year-old Rachel. “ _Yuki ma chiratsuku-shi, Ko mo naku-shi. Bon ga kita-tote, Nani ureshi-karo. Katabira wa nashi, Obi wa nashi_ …”

* * *

Crickets chirp in the middle of the night and the fireflies fly around Azarath, helping the moon illuminate the darkness.

Harumi had just fallen asleep just after Rachel did. The song always makes her fall asleep no matter how old she is.

A small noise awakens Harumi from her slumber. When she opens her eyes, she finds Rachel no longer sleeping next to her. Gasping, Harumi sits up, her heart racing in panic.

“Rachel…” She looks around for any signs of hr. “Karasu!”

Harumi looks upon hearing a low growl. On the ceiling, she sees Rachel crawling on all fours. Her hands and feet look crimson. Strands of white streak her black hair that hangs like a curtain. Harumi’s eyes widen in horror.

“Karasu?”

Rachel quickly crawls door from the ceiling to the wall, like a spider. When she reaches the floor, she crawls over to Harumi, growling like an animal. Harumi sees that Rachel’s face is red as blood and her eyes yellow as gold.

“Liar!” Rachel yells, exposing sharp teeth.

With this, Harumi screams. 


	3. Fly, John, Fly

**Finally got to writing John Constantine's chapter. It took some help from a few friends of mine since I didn't know much about Constantine other than the movies and the one TV show that got cancelled after 1 season. I'm trying to integrate more horror elements into Raven's story. I really hope you enjoy.**

* * *

It’s been seventeen years since John Constantine admitted himself into the Ravenscar Psychiatric Facility for the Mentally Deranged after his mental breakdown following a failed exorcism. Restless nights have left Constantine staring at the walls of his room for hours on end until his eyes become red and bloodshot, imagining ghostly hands coming through the ceiling. He has not shaved in months and his arms are covered in scars. Not just from all the demons and monsters that attacked him, but from the knives he inflicted on himself. Nurses are only allowed to give him spoons instead of forks and knives. They had his bedsheets removed as he wouldn’t hang himself. Now, Constantine sleeps in the cold. Doctors also have him under strict watch to make sure Constantine doesn’t wander off to hurt himself. Of course, he only tried to commit suicide once. Most of his self-inflicted wounds are him trying to come up with a spell to rectify his mistakes. 

John goes to therapy every weekend. Though most of their sessions are just him asking Dr. White to raise the dosage for his sleeping pills and anti-hallucination drugs, something she refuses to give him each time. Instead, she wants John to talk about his progress in the facility. Ten years ago, he barely spoke a word since his institutionalization. Six years later, he was playing poker with the other patients. Now, the nurses can’t seem to get him to shut up. But he refuses to talk about his breakdown. As always, she would start asking how his day went. If he took his medication. If he kept “seeing things”.

 _Honestly, I would need an entire bottle of pills just to stop “seeing things”. But then I would suffer an overdose and my soul would go straight to hell._ He’s not ready for that kind of shit yet.

Just like every other weekend, John is led to Dr. White’s office when he sits down on the brown leather sofa. Dr. White, a woman with short blonde hair and round black-framed glasses, sits behind her desk with her hands clasped on the wooden surface. She smiles in a kind but professional manner, just as she always does with her patients. John doesn’t know whether she cares for her patients or not but he’s certain she’s trying her best to keep her job at bay. 

“Good afternoon, John,” she says. 

“Dr. White,” he says without even saying “hello” or “good afternoon”. It’s not really a good afternoon. It’s pouring like a storm outside. 

“How are you today?” 

The same questions every day. 

“Restless. Tired. Have not slept one bit.” 

“Well, John, I’m starting to worry,” she says, “This is the third session where you’ve told me you can’t sleep. I assume you’re developing insomnia.”

“I used to sleep easier after a few drinks,” he says, his knee bouncing impatiently. He used to sneak alcohol from the kitchen while the security guards were on duty at the other side of the ward. When he got caught, the bottles he stole were confiscated. He hasn’t had a drink in weeks and it’s driving him mad. 

Dr. White sighs and adjusts her glasses. “Patients are not allowed to drink. You know the rules. Some patients here are alcoholics trying to quit.” 

“Then you know what I need. Double the dosage of my sleeping pills, doctor.” 

“John, raising the dosage of your sleeping pills can end up putting you in a coma or killing you. The asylum is only allowed to give you medication depending on your body’s capacity. Unless you want to overdose.” 

John shakes his head. “I only did that once.” 

“What about the recent scars on your hands and arms?” 

“They’re unrelated.” 

“But they are related to the previous wound you had when the police found you at the Logue resident,” she says. 

John sighs. _She didn’t have to bring that up._

“Like I said, unrelated.” 

“But it is related to why you’re here,” she says. John remains silent. “Let’s make a deal. You talk to me about Newcastle and I’ll make sure Thomas changes a small percent of the dosage. That way you’ll sleep easier tonight. All right?” 

“…Fine.” 

She takes out her notepad and a blue pen. “Tell me about the girl from Newcastle. Astra Logue.” 

John doesn’t like to think about it. Just the thought of Newcastle is enough to make him sick. Every time he closes his eyes, all he can hear are her screams and the screams of those involved. 

“According to you, you were involved in a failed exorcism,” Dr. White says. “But the police suspected you were involved in her death.” 

He nods. “Her death was on me. I can agree on that. That’s why I tried to get myself for her death. I even punched a bloody cop.” 

“Yet, someone vouched for you. Two people exactly. Zatanna Zatara and Harumi Nozaki. Is that correct?” 

“They shouldn’t have done that. They should have left me to rot.”

“Is that why you don’t allow visitors to see you?” 

“Even if I did, who’s going to visit a pathetic bastard like me,” John says. _Especially after what I did_.

Dr. White starts writing down on her notepad. “Let’s talk about what happened in your head. According to you, you were performing an exorcism on Astra Logue after her father had her possessed by a demon. You apparently summoned another demon to help. But that demon dragged her soul to hell.” 

“It also damned me and others as well.”

“And that damnation is guilt, John,” she says, “You went to save Astra from her abusive father but he ended up killing her and then you killed him in response. The demon you refer to is you unleashed. You created the demon in your head to make sense of the situation.” 

“Now, why would I do that?” John asks. 

“Because you don’t want to accept that you killed Alex Logue out of anger for Astra’s death.” 

That would make sense for someone who’s actually insane but John saw the demon drag Astra to hell. And so did the others. He smelled the demon’s sulfur. He felt the heat of the hellfire. Yet, he wants to believe the doctor’s words. He wants to think that all of it was in his head. 

“You know what the worst part of it is, doctor? That Alex Logue wasn’t just some bastard who killed his own kid. He was a friend. We were a small team. Almost a family.” 

“And I’m sure that devastated you very much. That’s why you’re having these delusions. That’s why you push people away.” 

“And it’s why I haven’t been able to sleep well at night…” 

Dr. White remains silent for a moment. “I’ll tell Thomas to double your dosage to two more milligrams but that’s it.”

John sighs in relief. “Thank you.” 

* * *

**April 13, 1963** ****

_“So, this is the famous Newcastle, eh?” John asked as he, Chas and Ritchie got out of the van to meet a demonologist named Alexander Logue. It was the first time they would meet him in person after speaking over the telephone over the past five months. They were planning on having their own paranormal team. Chas even joked about forming a band as a side job called the Hellblazers but Ritchie couldn’t play an instrument to save his life. Zatanna and Harumi had to stay in the hotel because they were tired from the long drive. “Looks nice,” he said. “Do you think this Alex Logue is going to show up?”_

_“Well, he said to meet us at the Cocoa Nutter Café at 27 Grainger Street, I think,” Chas said. “I hope he gave us the right address.”_

_Ritchie whined and yawned tiredly. “Why couldn’t I stay at the hotel with the girls?”_

_“It was your idea to meet with this guy in the first place, Ritchie,” John said. “We need to make sure this man is legit. Otherwise, we’d be wasting our time for nothing.”_

_They went to the Cocoa Nutter Café where it was bustling and slightly crowded. Waiters went in and out of the kitchen with trays of food. It took a while for John and the others to find a table to sit at. John looked around any signs of Alex Logue but couldn’t see anyone who looked like him. He was a man of dark skin with a padlock and wore a leather jacket. At least that was what he looked like in the photo._

_“It’s already ten minutes past 9,” John said. “Where the hell is he?”_

_“It’s only 9:10,” Ritchie said._

_“Sorry, but I’m the old ‘Be on time or fuck off’ kind of person,” John said as he took a sip of his vanilla latte. He didn’t like having his time wasted._

_“Maybe he’s hit a jam in traffic,” Chas said, still trying to stay positive._

_“Or maybe he took us for loons and decided not to show up,” John said._

_“Always optimistic, aren’t you, Johnny?” Ritchie asked rhetorically._

_John chuckled. “I’m realistic, friend.”_

_A minute later, a man entered Cocoa Nutter, panting in exhaustion as if he ran a marathon. At first, John thought it was another customer. Of course, when John squinted his eyes, he realized it was Alexander Logue. Only older and chubbier. The photograph was taken in his early days. Behind him was a little girl dressed in a floral dress. She had the same skin colour as Alex Logue but her hair was brown and frizzy with a flower on her head. John frowned._ **_Who the fuck is she and why is she here?_ **

_John Constantine met Logue in 1963. And since it was still 1963, some restaurants wouldn’t allow people of his colour. This one included._

_The waiter approached Alex Logue and tried to shoo him away._

_“Excuse me, sir. You can’t be in here, you’ll disturb the customers,” the waiter said._

_“Is that him?” Chas asked._

_“Looks like it,” Ritchie said._

_“Looks like the poor sard needs our help,” John said as he got up from his seat and went to handle the situation. He would have liked for Alex Logue to leave, mainly because he brought a kid with him. But he doesn’t like seeing people being disrespected just for how they appear._

_“I’m just here to meet a few friends,” Alex said._

_The waiter scoffed. “You have no friends waiting. So, unless you’re ordering to go, you need to leave ―”_

_“Excuse me,” John approached them. “Is there a problem?”_

_The waiter apologized. “Sorry, sir. I hope this man didn’t make you uncomfortable.”_

_“Well, you see, I am uncomfortable with this man but not for the reason you’re thinking. You see, my colleagues and I have been waiting on this man to show up at 9. The bloke is ten minutes late and to top it all, he brought a bloody kid to the meeting. Honestly, who does that? But I’m not making a fuss about it. Yet you’re bothering him for just walking in. So, unless you have a real reason to toss him and his kid out, I suggest you bugger off, mate.”_

_The waiter remained silent after that and went back to the kitchen._

_Alex Logue bowed his head. “Thank you. And I’m terribly sorry for being late.”_

_“You should probably apologize for not telling us you were bringing a kid with you,” John said. The girl frowned at his attitude._

_“This is my daughter, Astra,” Alex said, “I never mentioned her because we were still knowing each other.”_

_“All right, I get that, mate. But why is she here? This is not a meeting meant for a child to hear.”_

_John didn’t feel comfortable discussing the supernatural in front of children or the weak-minded. Though, in truth, he simply didn’t like kids. He found them noisy and smelly._

_“Please,” Alex said, “She’s good. I promise she won’t bother you. Besides, she’s just as interested in the strange and the unusual as I am.”_

_John sighed. It was too early to argue about this. “All right, fine.”_

_They sat at the table. Astra sat down between her father and John. Alex gave her a notebook and a pen to draw on while they talked._

_John introduced him to the others. “Alex, these are my colleagues, Ritchie and Chas. The girls, Zatanna and Harumi are at a hotel resting so you’ll meet them later after they get over their jet lag thing.”_

_“I am honoured to be here, thank you,” Alex said._

_“Let me give you a quick rundown of our duties,” John said. “Ritchie here studies quantum magic. Z and I practice magic. Harumi is our spiritualist. She’s into Shinto and Buddhism. And Chas is our driver.”_

_Chas chuckled. “Someone had to stop John from driving us into a lamppost.”_

_John rolled his eyes. “Everyone’s a critic.”_

_“Admit it, John. You suck at driving. You failed your driving exam 9 times.”_

_“6 times. So, bugger off.”_

_“So, is it true, Alex?” Chas asked the newcomer. “Are you a demonologist?”_

_“Yes, I am,” Alex said, “At first, it was a hobby. I became interested in the field after hearing the story of Faust.”_

_“Faust,” John said, “A classic one. He made a deal with Mephistopheles and when the time came for payment, the demon snatched Faust from his room through his rooftop. I learned that while studying the history of Prague.”_

_“Yes, I decided to study it afterwards. It’s mostly my side job though. Being a demonologist doesn’t exactly pay so I’m also a plumber. I’ve been studying them for twenty years now.”_

_“20 years?” Ritchie said in surprise. “Jeez, what does your wife think of all this?”_

_The smile suddenly fell from Alex’s face. “Um, well she thought it was all right. She kept me and Astra in her prayers.”_

_John raised an eyebrow. “She_ **_thought_ ** _?”_

_Alex didn’t say anything. It was Astra who explained the situation._

_“Mommy died of cancer last year,” she said meekly._

_“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Chas said._

_“It’s all right,” Alex said, “We try to move on. That’s why I’m always bringing Astra along. I have no one else to trust and care for her.”_

_“Well, Astra is welcome to our merry band as well,” Chas smiled._

_John didn’t like the idea though. “Don’t I get a say in this?”_

_“Sorry, Johnny,” Ritchie said._

_John watched Astra draw on the notebook with a black pen. She was drawing a bird. But he couldn’t tell what kind of bird it was, at first._

_“What kind of bird is that?” he asked._

_She smiled at him slightly. “A dove.”_

_She then started drawing something that disturbed John at first but didn’t think for any cause of alarm. If only he had seen the signs. It looked like a dog combined with a monkey’s head. She would draw small circles and squiggly lines over it. John didn’t know what they were so he didn’t make much of it._

_“And what’s that?”_

_“That’s my friend Mr. Norfulthing,” she said._

* * *

After an exhausting day talking with the psychiatrist, John heads back to his room for another night of restless sleep.

However, as he nears his room, he sees something move from the corner of his eye. When he turns his head to the hallway, there’s nothing there. John sighs tiredly. Many years of fighting bloody demons and other types of monsters has messed with his mind. He can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not anymore. _I must be seeing things again_ . _Maybe a goodnight’s rest will do me some good_. 

He opens the door and nearly falls back with a fright upon seeing someone standing in his room. A girl…A child. She looks about 14. No, 16. But John can’t see her face clearly. Long black hair covers her face. Her shoulders and fingers twitch slightly. With his heart pounding fast, John slams the door shut. _Fucking hell. Not this shit again_. 

_Now, calm down. It’s probably just another bloody hallucination._ He continues to tell this lie to himself over and over again even though he is never sure anymore. 

The girl appears in front of him again, walking right through the door of his room. She doesn’t try to attack him. She simply stands there, looking down at her bloodied feet. 

John takes a step back as she gets closer. 

“Who the bloody hell are you?” he asks, “And what the fuck were you doing in my room?...Jilling off, ain’t ya?” 

The girl doesn’t say anything. 

John frowns in confusion. “…I am addressing the spirit who has come to visit me tonight. What is your name and business?” 

She doesn’t respond, much to his surprise. This usually works. 

She then just walks right past him. John turns and watches her walk down the hall. The lights in the ceiling begin to flicker rapidly. 

Annoyed, John follows the girl. “Oi, I am addressing you.” No response. “You come here and give me a fucking fright and you won’t even say a bloody word to me. Either you tell me who you are and what your business is, or I will send your soul back to wherever it came from.” 

The girl proceeds to walk away from him without saying a single word. However, John notices that something is not right. The girl’s feet start to drag across the floor rather than pace. Blood leaks down her arms. Her breathing becomes shallow and hoarse. It’s like she’s getting sick or something. 

John proceeds to follow the kid until they reach the stairwell to the roof. By this point, the girl has now fallen onto her knees, gasping and reaching out for the stairs. 

“Home…” she mumbles while still gasping. 

Shocked and confused by this, John reaches out to grab the girl’s arm but his hand just goes right through her. 

“Home…” she continues to mumble as she drags her body upstairs, still gasping loudly. 

“Listen, if you want me to take you home, I can help you with that. But it’s like you’re not even listening to me. It’s like…” John’s eyes widen as a realization occurs to him. “You’re not a spirit, aren’t you? You’re a premonition. Something bad is going to happen, isn’t it? And it involves you, doesn’t it?...And I keep talking to her like she’s fucking listening. Wait up! I need to see where you’re going!” He rushes after her.

He follows her upstairs to the roof. 

The girl falls to the floor, facedown. John still can’t see her face. All he can see is the blood leaking out from her body and pooling the floor. John looks in shock and worry. He then watches her gag and convulse. 

“You’re going to die, aren’t you?” he asks as he kneels next to her. “Is that what you’re trying to tell me?...You want me to save you? I’m sorry, but this is not my problem. If you want help, find someone else.”

A low growl suddenly rings his ears. The girl’s hair suddenly turns cotton white and her skin turns red as the blood. 

“ _Who says I need your help, John Constantine?_ ” The girl looks up, now exposing her face. Also red as blood but her eyes also yellow and her teeth black and sharp.

“Holy shit!” John yells as he gets up and makes a run for the door to head back downstairs but it slams shut with a loud _bang_. “Bollocks,” he mutters before turning around to face the demon. “Deceitful demon. Who the hell are you? And why did you bring me all the way here?”

The demon chuckles evilly. “Why else? To kill you, of course.” She bounds after John. 

He starts mumbling his spells to incapacitate her but doesn’t seem to work. The demon swings her claws and scratches him in the arm. He cries out. 

She grabs John by the throat. John chokes and tries to yell out an incantation but none have worked so far. Now, he can’t even speak. The demon hangs him over the edge of the roof, his feet now dangling in the air. “ _I see what she sees. I know what she knows. Because I am part of her. She will seek you out to be her savior. But I will make sure you’re dead before that ever happens. She will never be rid of me. And neither will you, John Constantine_.” 

* * *

The next day, one of the nurses steps out of the psychiatric building to have a cigarette after attending to the patients. A young lady with brown tied up hair and round glasses. She stops by the entrance to pull out her lighter and cigarette. After putting the cigarette between her teeth, she tries flicking on the lighter. However, before she can get it lit, she hears a low moan coming from the other side of the building, in the bushes. She pauses for a moment, thinking it was her imagination, before trying to light up her cigarette again. But the same moaning sound comes back again, along with a cry of agony. Curious to know what this is, she puts her lighter back into her pocket and follows the sound It’s coming from the bushes near the patients’ room. It could be one of the patients having an unauthorized outing.

Though, once she finally nears the bushes, she squeals upon seeing John Constantine lying limp on the shrub with his leg twisted and a bump of his bone threatening to break through skin, making it look grey from the cut of blood circulation. Constantine himself is covered in cuts and bruises from the fall but the nurse doesn’t see the claw marks on his face and arm. Constantine knows she can’t see them. 

“Mr. Constantine!” the nurse cries out in shock. 

“Morning, Doris,” he says, knowing the names of all the nurses and doctors he met at Ravenscar. “Wonderful morning, ain’t it? Say, you don’t mind getting the doctor for me, eh? I would do it myself but as you can see, my leg is not in its right place at the moment.” He says this while groaning in pain. 

“What happened!? Were you trying to kill yourself again!?” 

“Trust me, love. If I was, I wouldn’t be asking for a doctor. I would be asking for a body bag.” 

_Though, I think I might be needing one soon_. 

* * *

**I hope to write the next chapter soon. Feel free to leave a comment down below and tell me what you think of this chapter. I will posting the next chapter soon in a week or so.**


	4. Concealed

**In case anyone is wondering, Raven doesn’t know she has powers yet. In fact, she doesn’t know what she is or who her father is. This is Raven will be slowly discovering her powers.**

* * *

Rachel and Kiran walk over the white marble bridge to feed the ducks in the river. Rachel uses her fingertips to sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the river and watches the ducks swarm to eat them. Kiran giggles and does the same.

Rachel and Kiran have been close friends since they first met in meditation at three years of age. They would start talking during class which annoyed Harumi a bit. They would hang around almost every day. From what Rachel knows, Kiran was born in India but fled her country with her parents to live in Azarath after villagers accused her of being a dayan witch and tried to execute her because of her ability to create light. Rachel always told her they were just jealous Kiran was blessed with the power of light. She even wished she could wield such abilities.

“Are you feeling better?” Kiran asks.

“I believe so. I only have a bit of a headache,” Rachel says. She had been isolated for three days after giving a seizure, followed by an immense fever. “It’s odd though. I don’t remember having another epilepsy. Usually I would. But this time, I don’t remember.”

* * *

_Rachel had lunged at Harumi, screaming “Liar!” and tried to strangle her. Harumi choked and tried to pry her hands away._

_“K-Karasu…”_

_Father Torao and Brother Shiro suddenly burst into the room, shocked expressions crossing their faces. Rachel turned to snarl at them. Father Torao and Brother Shiro charged and struggled to grab Rachel until they finally pulled her away from Harumi. Rachel thrashed and screamed._

* * *

“How is Mother Harumi?” Rachel asks.

Kiran shrugs. “I don’t know. According to Father Torao, she came down with a cold and needed to rest.”

Rachel sighs. “I haven’t seen her in three days. It’s probably my fault she fell ill. I probably got her sick.”

“Epilepsy is not contagious, Rachel. I’m sure you had nothing to do with it.”

* * *

_Father Torao and Brother Shiro pinned Rachel to the ground while she continued to thrash and scream. The window shutters slammed open and close repeatedly. And the lights in Azarath flickered uncontrollably. She snapped and gnashed her teeth at Father Torao but Brother Shiro threw a handful of salt in her face, causing her to shriek in pain._

_“Don’t hurt her!” Mother Harumi cried._

* * *

Kiran smiles at Rachel slightly and holds both of her hands. “Let’s not worry about that now. You should be worrying what you’ll be planning for your birthday. You’ll be 16 in a few days.”

“I have been so lost in thought lately, I nearly forgot. Though, to be honest, I’m not sure if I want to celebrate.”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

“I’m not sure. Just a feeling.” Rachel’s worst case scenario would be for the planet to explode on her 16th birthday but they’re mostly silly thoughts.

“But still. A 16th birthday is very special for many. It means you’re halfway to adulthood. It should be celebrated.”

Rachel raises an eyebrow. “Really? How?”

A broad smile crosses Kiran’s face and her eyes glimmer. “We make a cake!”

Rachel giggles. “You know how to bake a cake?”

“No, but Mama does. She can make a cake for you on your birthday.”

“Oh no, Kiran. I could never ask your mother to do something like that.”

“Why not? She makes cakes all the time. I’m sure she won’t mind baking for you. Consider it a present.”

“But, um, Mother Harumi already gave me a present,” Rachel says awkwardly.

“She did?” Kiran smiles. “Where is it?”

“I’m wearing it.” Rachel reaches into her robe and pulls out the red pendant that’s now around her neck. The red gem shimmers against the bright sun.

Kiran’s smile grows bigger. “Oh my Azar, Rachel. It’s beautiful.”

Rachel’s smile is smaller though. “Indeed. Mother Harumi and Father Torao got it for me. I wanted to wear it on my birthday but Father Torao believes I should wear it now, despite it supposed to be a surprise.”

“Hmm. I never thought of Father Torao to be the impatient type.”

“Me either.” She shrugs. “Mother Harumi says that the jewel will protect me from evil.”

* * *

_Harumi suddenly remembered where Rachel hid the necklace and took it out from under the mat. Tears fell down her face as she held the necklace to her forehead. She prayed to the mother of Azarath, hoping that this would work._

_“Mother Azar, I beseech you,” she said. “Please bless this jewel so I may save the child and protect her from all the evils that is to come. Please, accept my plead. And I shall forever be grateful to you. Mother Azar, save her. Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos.”_

_The pendant’s centered jewel suddenly began to glow brightly. Mother Harumi’s eyes widened. Her prayers actually worked! Thinking fast, Harumi rushed to Rachel’s side. Brother Shiro was about to throw more salt in Rachel’s face but Harumi pushed him out of the way, nearly slamming him to the stone wall, and quickly put the necklace around the girl’s neck._

_Rachel stopped thrashing and gasped sharply. Her face became pale again. Her wide eyes returned to their dark brown colour. Her teeth no longer sharp. And her white coarse hair returned black and smooth. She was now back to her normal state. And then she fell into unconsciousness._

* * *

“Well, it’s beautiful,” Kiran says with a smile.

Rachel smiles back and thumbs the red jewel. It still feels warm despite not having touched it in a while.

“And since Mother Harumi gave you a gift, it’s only fair if I give you a gift,” Kiran says. “Accept the gift or I’m throwing you in the water.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

Rachel laughs a little and shakes her head in disbelief. “All right then. I guess it won’t hurt to have one slice.”

“Good,” Kiran giggles.

Rachel still can’t stop thinking about what happened three nights ago yet has no memory of it. Only that she woke to be told she suffered a seizure and Harumi fell ill.

* * *

After returning from the bridge, Rachel goes to find Harumi. It’s a Saturday so Harumi has no meditation classes to teach today. She would just be there to clean the classroom. The floors are not always clean. There are times when students track dirt or mud on the floor, despite strict rules telling them to leave their shoes outside.

She sees Harumi mopping the wooden floor, looking tired. To Rachel’s surprise, she’s wearing a purple scarf around her neck, almost matching the robe she’s wearing. Rachel takes off her shoes, leaving them outside, and steps into the classroom.

“Mother…”

Harumi quickly whips her head to look at Rachel, her eyes wide in surprise.

“Karasu,” she says and places the mop against the wall. “You’re here. Is everything all right?”

“Um, I think so. I was going to ask the same thing about you. Father Torao told me you got sick. I just wanted to see if you were all right.”

Harumi presses her lips together in a thin line. “Um, yes. I am. I’m actually feeling a lot better. It was just a cold. Probably because I left the windows open that night.” 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to anger you.”

Harumi looks shocked. “Angry? Why would I be angry with you?”

“You got sick because of me.”

“What?” Harumi stares at her in shock. “No. What are you talking about? This has nothing to do with you.”

“If I hadn’t left the window open ―”

“No, Karasu,” Harumi says harshly and Rachel remains silent. “None of this is your fault.”

“Then, what is it?”

“Well, I was already feeling ill before. During meditation. So, it has nothing to do with you.”

“Are you sure?”

Harumi laughs and kisses her head. “I am sure.”

However, something in Harumi’s laugh seems off. Unnatural. It sounds forced. It makes Rachel wonder why she would lie.

“Now, let’s not talk about this. We have a birthday to think about.”

Rachel can’t help but roll her eyes. “You’re just like Kiran,” she says and giggles.

Harumi giggles and kisses her head.

* * *

_Harumi held Rachel’s unconscious body close, resting her head to her chest, and sobbed profusely._

_“My baby,” she cried, “My sweet baby.”_

_“Mother Harumi,” Father Torao told her gently. “We need to take her to the medical wing. And quickly. There’s no telling if that thing is still there. We need to perform an exorcism.”_

_But Harumi still held her, not wanting to let her go._

_“Mother Harumi,” Brother Shiro said more sternly. “You need to listen. She could still be dangerous. Mother Harumi!”_

* * *

“Mother Harumi!” Father Yamada approaches the classroom. An old bitter man with a round belly, bald head and white beard. Rachel has never liked him. And she knows Father Yamada isn’t fond of her either. Harumi’s eyes widen when she sees him get closer to the classroom. “Come, we must talk about ―”

The door slams shut in his face. A yelp is heard from the other side. Harumi pants while her back is pressed against the door. Rachel remains frozen on the spot, mouth agape.

“Did you…Did you just slam the door on Father Yamada’s face?” Rachel asks.

“And I probably broke his nose.” Harumi quickly grabs her hand. “Run away.”

Rachel nods in agreement and follows Harumi through the classroom’s second exit. 


	5. Chamber of Worlds

**Finally, the next chapter is up. I was afraid it would never happen. But it did, after a long time of pushing through it. I hope you guys like it.**

* * *

Mother Harumi sits across Father Torao and Brother Shiro just as the meeting is about to begin. At the other side of the meeting table, she sees Father Yamada glaring at her. A bandage is taped over his nose. Harumi gulps, suspecting that Father Yamada must have told the others what happened. How she slammed the door in his face and ran off with Rachel. Of course, she would be in a great deal of trouble. This is Father Yamada, one of the higher elders after Father Torao. If anyone does anything to disrespect a father, you'd be disrespecting all of them. That's why many avoid Father Yamada like the plague.

But here, Harumi can't escape his cold stare. A glare that would make any child run, including Rachel.

The meeting begins in session. The fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers of Azarath take their seats at the round wooden table. Harumi's hands fidget.

"Mother Harumi," Father Torao's voice echoes against the room's white marble walls. Harumi lifts her gaze towards him, trying to appear composed and collected, though inside she's shitting her robes. "We have requested your presence for two reasons. One is an apology for injuring Father Yamada's face."

All eyes shift to her in surprise, and a few gasps can be heard.

"I swear it was an accident," Harumi says.

"You slammed the door in my face and broke my nose!" Father Yamada snaps at her. "And you ran off without apologizing."

"At ease, Yamada," Father Tsukiyama says, "I'm sure it was a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Father Yamada says, "Hardly a misunderstanding. She knew what she was doing. She saw me approach her and before I could talk to her, she slammed the door in my face."

"Father Yamada, I promise," Harumi says, "My intentions were not to harm you."

"Then what were your intentions, Mother Harumi?" Father Torao asks.

Before she can open her mouth, Father Yamada rants over her.

"She knows what her intentions were. She has been avoiding meetings for quite some time now. And has been keeping Karasu from us for an entire month straight."

"And that's the second reason we summoned you, Mother Harumi," Father Torao says.

Harumi sighs in defeat. "You summoned me to speak of Rachel."

"You can't avoid it any longer," Father Yamada says, almost standing from his chair.

"At ease," Father Torao says before switching his attention to Harumi, "As much as it pains me to admit it, Father Yamada is right. You have been avoiding us for a while. But it all ends here. We must talk about Rachel and what should be done about her."

"What do you mean 'What should be done about her?'" Harumi frowns in confusion.

Father Torao and Father Tsukiyama look at each other.

"Do you wish to tell her, or should I?" Father Tsukiyama asks.

Sighing, Father Torao looks back at Harumi. "For the past month before Rachel's 16th birthday, there has been a spike in violence. Accidents and murder in the other world being projected and are more prominent. On August 16, there was a gas explosion in the underground shopping area of Shizuoka Station, killing two hundred. This happened the same day Rachel was having a panic attack and no one could explain how the gas explosion occurred. 60 people in Kyoto were attacking each other without explanation. When the police interviewed the victims and the attackers, they had no recollection of the event. 10 people died in the slaughter. This occurred on September 24, the same day Rachel was suffering another nightmare."

"Pure coincidences. Accidents and murders happen all the time. What does this have to do with Rachel?"

" _Everything_ ," Father Yamada says.

"You see," Father Torao says, "These are not ordinary accidents. After said incidents, there have been reports of dead bodies rising and walking away from the scene without incident. One man walked out of the explosions as if he didn't just get burned to a crisp. Reports of humans attacking others violently, having black eyes are becoming popular as well."

"And what do you suppose? Possession?" Harumi asks.

"We believe so," Father Torao says, "But that's not all. Have a look. This was recorded a few weeks ago."

Father Torao turns on the projector for everyone to see. On the screen, it shows a man slitting a woman's throat in an alleyway. From what Harumi can see, the act of violence took place in Gotham City, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Notorious for corruption, its uncontrollable crime and insane criminals. Not to mention the infamous Batman. Only a fool would dare go there. The woman who got killed was possibly a stripper or a prostitute just from the way she dressed: short black skirt, red laced corset almost exposing her breasts, high heels, loop earrings, fishnet stockings and make-up smudged over her face. The man who slit her throat was an ex-lover or a drug-dealer whom she owed money to. At the moment, nothing happens. The man turns away to talk on his phone. Possibly his wife or boss. It's always a wife or a boss.

Soon, Harumi's eyes grow wide when the dead woman slowly rises from the ground, at first off-balance, but soon starts stumbling towards him. Blood trickles down the wound of her throat while her eyes are soulless and black as marble. She mutters "Trigon…Akumu", much to Harumi's horror. _Akumu_. And then the woman attacks the man, biting him down his neck. Everyone nearly gasps at the sight.

"This has been happening everywhere," Father Torao says, "Dead people walking. Not just Gotham. London. China. The Philippines. And Japan."

"Only one more," Harumi says as they know who these demons are.

"You mean _'two more'_ , Mother Harumi," Father Yamada says.

"No, one more," she reproaches, knowing what he's trying to imply.

"You still continue to deny it? You can't deny the truth."

"I do not deny anything because it's not true. Rachel will never become them."

"You sound _so_ certain about it."

"I am certain," Harumi says, "I raised her, after all."

"Ah yes, we're all aware of your unhealthy attachment to Rachel. You even gave her your surname."

"And what's wrong with that?" Harumi asks, "What's wrong with giving Rachel a bit of love –?"

"You are not her mother!" he shouts.

The room becomes silent once more.

Harumi glares at Father Yamada now. So, that's how you want to play it, eh? Fine.

"You're right, Father Yamada," she says, "I am not Rachel's mother. I didn't give birth to her nor was I able to breastfeed her. But I was the only one in this room who gave a shit about her."

"Mother Harumi, please watch your tongue," Father Torao says.

"Forgive me, Torao, but I will not. Ever since Rachel was born, many of you have been nothing but cold and unkind to her, despite having done nothing. Sister Ami, you were the one who helped Angela deliver Rachel, yet you refused to care for her or go anywhere near her. I found her with an infection once because you never cleaned her. Not even once. You also refused to feed her and the young thing was starving."

"Mother Harumi, be fair with me," Sister Ami says in a tone resembling a wounded puppy, looking down with a contorted expression as if she were about to cry. "If you had only seen her when she was firstborn. She did not appear normal. She was covered in black blood. Not red. Black. And her eyes. How can you deny those soulless eyes? How could you expect me to care for her?"

"Trust me, I have seen it," Harumi says, "Many times. But I still did not abandon Rachel for it. The rest of you may not see her as normal. But she is a child. When we all agreed Angela was not fit to care for Rachel, we also agreed that I would care for her. Father Torao, you were there. You also agreed. And I have been doing so for many years. Yes, I was afraid at first. But nothing has changed. And I will continue to care for her for days to come."

"You're sounding like Brother Hide," Father Yamada says.

"Brother Hide was already unhinged when he came to Azarath."

"Exactly."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You weren't exactly sane when you first came to Azarath."

"Though, unlike Brother Hide, I didn't betray Azarath and risked our entire existence opening a portal to hell."

"You would do it eventually, given your previous history with the self-proclaimed master of the dark arts."

 _John Constantine_. Just the name makes Harumi cringe.

"Father Yamada, that's quite unfair," Father Torao says, "This is beyond discussion. Whatever happened to Harumi in Newcastle with John Constantine has nothing to do with our current situation. We must discuss what needs to be done about Rachel."

Harumi looks at Father Torao. "And what do you think should be done about Rachel?"

"It is still up to debate, Harumi."

"I see. You're all debating on whether or not Rachel should leave Azarath."

"Yes," Father Yamada says, "And many of us here are in favour that Rachel should be sent away somewhere far. For her safety. And the safety of Azarath."

"How many are in favour?" Harumi asks.

"Ten," Father Yamada says, "Only two are against the idea because they fear we'll be spreading the problem to the world instead of keeping her contained."

 _Did he really just compare Rachel to a fucking virus?_ She thinks.

"All we need is your vote and that of Father Torao," he says.

Harumi returns her gaze to Torao. "What is your vote?"

"I am still debating," he says.

"Then you know my answer," she says. "We can't just toss Rachel aside like a stray dog. How will you explain it to her? After so many years of raising her as an Azarathian, we're going to simply tell her we no longer want her here? A child who doesn't know her capacity. A child who has devoted her faith in Azar. A child who doesn't know who her father is. A child who doesn't know her mother tried to kill her at birth. Are we going to bombard her with the truth, expect her to just accept it and then toss her out like garbage?"

"You could have told her the truth since she was born," Father Yamada says, "Instead, you kept up the act of her being a normal child when everyone knows she's not. The sooner she learns the truth, the easier it will be to send her away."

"I disagree this time, Yamada," Father Torao says.

Father Yamada frowns at him in confusion. "And why is that?"

"Rachel has been a sensitive child all her life, and she seems to react based on emotion. Whenever she wailed, a window would break. Whenever she's overwhelmed with joy, there would be a blackout all over Azarath like ten years ago on her sixth birthday."

"It took all day to fix the fuse box," one monk says.

"If we tell her the truth now, it will prove disastrous. There's no telling how she'll react and what her reaction will cause."

"More reasons for her to leave Azarath," Father Yamada continues to say.

Harumi gets sick of him. "And where do you plan on sending her? To an orphanage? To a prison? Will you lock her away like her mother? To an asylum? To some magical cage where she can never get out? You never made a plan of where Rachel should go if things go array, have you? You simply hoped this day wouldn't come. If you send Rachel away, she'll be alone, scared, sad and confused. She'll be so lost she won't know what to do with herself and will wonder why we've abandoned her. We're not protecting her. We're condemning her." She abruptly gets up from her seat. "Rachel stays here. She's not leaving Azarath. End of discussion."

She then leaves the meeting.

* * *

Rachel pokes her strawberry shortcake with a fork, no longer hungry or in the mood to continue the party. _What was the point of having a party if Harumi doesn't even bother to stay?_ Letting out a deep breath in frustration, she steps out of the Singh family's house and sits at the balcony with the plate of cake on her lap. She looks over the balcony's marble railing and gazes over the streets of Azarath. They're empty. Everyone is back in their homes. The golden cobblestone streets appear blue at night and they glitter in the moonlight. Rachel gazes at the dark blue sky. Stars twinkle. The moon is full and shines over Azarath, making Rachel's face grow paler than usual. She smiles slightly and closes her eyes, taking in the beauty of her home.

"Rachel," Kiran comes out of her house after noticing her absence. "I thought I'd find you here. What's the matter? You seemed happier earlier."

Rachel sighs once more. "That was before."

"You heard what Mother Harumi. She'll be back as soon as the meeting is over."

"I doubt the meeting will end early. They always have a meeting when there's trouble. I suppose it's about me."

"Why would you think that?"

"It's always about me," Rachel says, "I know something is not right."

"How would you know?"

"It's a feeling."

"Is it the bad dreams again?" Kiran asks.

Rachel nods. "Only one. It's the same thing almost every night, and I feel like it's getting worse."

"I can tell. You look pale and exhausted. You know I'm here. We're best friends, remember? We tell each other everything."

Rachel sighs. _Oh, Kiran. How I wish I can tell you everything_. She really wishes to tell her, but she can't. How can she? When she doesn't even know what's happening to her. No one tells her anything.

"Karasu! Kiran!"

Rachel rolls her eyes.

 _Bloody hell_ , she thinks. It's the twins, Tenzin and Tamdin. They arrive running and laughing while pushing at each other. _Please, Azar, make them go away_. Whenever those two are around, trouble always ensues. That's why Rachel and Kiran often stay away from them.

"What do you two want?" Kiran asks.

"Relax," Tenzin says with a mischievous smile. "We just wanted to give Karasu a happy birthday."

"Thank you," Rachel says out of politeness.

"Unless you brought presents, move along," Kiran says.

"We just thought we could all have a little fun tonight," Tamdin says.

"We're not having sex with you two," Kiran says, "You know the rules. Unless you are wedded, fornication in Azarath is strictly forbidden."

Rachel giggles a little. Most of it is true, but she and Kiran simply have no desire for Tam and Tenzin. Aside from being immature troublemakers, they're simply not the girls' type.

Tam makes a face. "Not that kind of fun."

"Yeah, that kind of fun will be saved for later," Tenzin chuckles and Kiran rolls her eyes as well.

"What kind of fun then?" Rachel asks curiously. "If you don't mind us asking."

"The fun that will surpass all the games we once played as children. The fun none of the elders will let us have. A real gem of discovery –."

"It's the Chamber of Worlds," Tam says.

Eyes of both Rachel and Kiran's widen large at the mention of the Chamber of Worlds. Tenzin punches Tam in the shoulder.

" _I_ wanted to tell them," he says.

"You were taking too long," Tamdin says.

"I was trying to be suspenseful."

"Wait a second," Kiran interrupts, "Are you saying you two could gain access to the Chamber of Worlds after so many years of the elders denying us entry? Even I find that difficult to believe."

"Well, believe it. Tamdin and I are going to be the first kids to see what sort of doors the monks are hiding from us," Tenzin says.

"But wait," Rachel says, "How were you able to gain access?"

"Um, well," Tamdin says, "We kind of took the keys from Brother Lawrence while he wasn't looking."

Kiran stares at them in astonishment. "You stole the keys —!"

"Hush now. Not so loud," Tenzin says, "Besides, we didn't steal it. We borrowed it. We plan on giving it back afterwards. Once we see what is in the Chamber."

"And by _we_ , you mean _you and Tam_?" Kiran asks, though she and Rachel know the answer.

"Well, I thought it would be the four of us. Like a double date."

"Getting punished for sneaking into the Chamber of Worlds doesn't sound ideal."

"It could get us into trouble," Rachel says.

"Big trouble," Kiran says, "So, sorry if we're not interested."

"Oh, come on. Tell me you're not curious to know what's in that room," Tenzin says.

"Of course we are," Rachel says, "But I'm not sure if this is the right way. It feels dishonest and as Kiran said, we could get in trouble."

"Well, you can always stay here, eat your cake and wait for Mother Harumi all night long," Tenzin says.

"That's manipulation and I don't like it," she says bluntly.

"Come on," he says, "You know I'm right. Every year of your birthday it's the same thing. It's your birthday and Harumi always goes off somewhere, leaving you to wait for her all night."

"She said she would come after the meeting."

"Well, that meeting might take all night, so I don't think she's coming back."

"Why must you be so cruel to her?" Kiran asks.

"I'm not being cruel," Tenzin says. "I'm telling the truth."

"And you're ruining her birthday," Kiran says, "If you're going to be like that, then bugger off. No one asked you to come here."

Tam tugs at his brother's arm. "Come on, Tenzin. Let's not bother them. We can go by ourselves."

Tenzin sighs in defeat. "All right, fine. Suit yourselves. Enjoy your little party."

Kiran wiggles her fingers at him while contorting her face in mockery. "Byeeee."

Tenzin makes faces at her as well. Tam, on the other hand, splays a tiny smile at Rachel and waves slightly.

"Happy birthday, Rachel."

Rachel smiles a little. "Thanks. Goodnight, Tamdin."

The twins finally leave the premises. Rachel continues to watch them as they disappear around the corner. She sighs before sitting back down next to Kiran. She sips her tea and eats her cake. However, she only eats half of it, now having lost her appetite.

Kiran puts her hand on her shoulder. "You wanted to go, didn't you?"

Rachel says nothing. She looks down and keeps poking at her cake. "I'm not missing anything, am I? It's probably boring."

"Don't lie. I know you want to go. You also know. Why lie?"

"Maybe. We both know that the way the boys are doing it is dishonest. It's not right…"

"But…"

Rachel exhales. "But what if they're right? Every year it's the same. And I always have to wait for Harumi so we can do something together. None of the other sisters want to be around me. Some of them are even scared of me, and I don't know why. But one thing I know is that I want to have at least one birthday where I can have fun for once."

"Are you saying eating cake with me and my parents are not fun?" Kiran teases.

Rachel giggles. "No, it's not. I am grateful for you guys. Even so, I just wish to do something more. Be more adventurous. More daring. You know what I mean?"

"Well, we could go after the boys and see if they'll let us join. Probably not. We rejected them after all."

"I don't want to get you in trouble for my selfish thoughts."

"Hey, it's not selfishness. It's your birthday. You simply want to have fun. And if we get caught, we'll just blame the twins."

Rachel sighs and scratches her arm, leaving light red marks on her arms. She's still unsure about it.

"Hey," Kiran says, "Don't worry. It will be fine. If we see something we don't like, we'll just come back. Okay?"

Rachel smiles a little. "All right."

* * *

They arrive at the Chamber of Worlds just in time to see Tenzin unlocking the door with the key he stole. Rachel hopes she won't regret this. When Tamdin spots her and Kiran, he grins.

"Hey, you're here!"

Rachel stops in her tracks and looks down shyly.

Tenzin lifts his head and his eyes widen in surprise. "You decided to show up?"

"Yeah," Kiran says, "But we're only here to watch. Don't ask us to open any doors. If you two do anything inappropriate or that will alert the monks, we're leaving. Understood? We're only here because it was getting boring at the party."

"Sure you did," Tenzin says.

"Are you sure we won't get caught?" Rachel asks as she looks around worriedly.

"I'm sure. The keeper is off at the meeting with the other monks," Tenzin says, "No one will be back for hours."

Rachel breathes deeply and scratches her arm again.

"Rachel, stop scratching your arm," Kiran says.

"Rash?" Tamdin asks.

Rachel shakes her head. "Nerves."

"There's nothing to be nervous about," Tenzin says, "Come on, it will be fun."

With the twist of the key, the door slowly creaks open. The four teens peer their heads through the entrance. It's just like the rumours I heard in the classroom. A chamber full of doors. Many stationed on the white marble floor in a circle while others float in the air. The walls are red like wine and the pillars are also white like the floor. And the ceiling. Gods, the ceiling. Dark blue with twinkling stars and what resembled the burning sun. We quickly enter the chambers and Tenzin closes the door behind him before anyone could see us. I look at the floating doors, my face full of shock and awe.

 _This is incredible_.

"Wow," Kiran lets out a breath, "I was not expecting this."

"It's beautiful," Rachel says.

"This is going to be so much fun," Tenzin says.

"Which door should we try first?" Tamdin asks.

"Hmm." Tenzin looks around, rubbing his chin. He then points at the door closest to him. A door made of dark green wood. "Let's try this one."

However, Kiran grabbed his arm before he could approach it. "Wait a second," she says. "You can't just open a random door like that when we don't even know what's behind it."

"Perhaps we should check if the doors have labels to where they go," Rachel suggests.

"Where's the fun in that?" Tenzin yanks his arm from Kiran's grip and proceeds towards the door.

Kiran rolls his eyes before looking back at Rachel, shaking her head. "What an idiot."

"You nervous?" Tamdin asks Rachel suddenly.

Rachel looks at him in surprise and fidgets her hands nervously. "Um, a little."

"It's going to be fine. It will be fun," Tamdin says with a smile. Rachel smiles back a little.

Tenzin unlocks the door with one of the keys hanging from the gold hoop. Rachel's hand squeezes Kiran's, and she squeezes back.

Through the other side of the door shows a jungle full of tall trees, large green leaves almost as big as Ancient Egyptian fans. There are so many leaves above that it canopies the ground below. Not a single hint of blue sky could be seen anywhere. Colourful birds fly around the trees and caw loudly. Rachel smiles and watches in awe. She has seen nothing quite like it before. She has only seen them in picture books she was given as a child and then encyclopedia as she got older. She could memorize most of the names of the plants, where they come from and what they look like. And what time period they're from.

For instance, that particular leaf looks like a horsetail plant. However, they're bigger than what they are now. They're smaller today. She hasn't seen plants that big since…

Rachel's eyes widen. She knows where those horsetails are from. Specifically, _when_? And she feels like something is coming right for them. Something big. "Um, Tenzin. Maybe you should close the door."

Tenzin frowns at her. "Why would I do that?"

"That place is not our time period."

"Eh? What are you talking about? These doors don't travel through time."

"Then," Kiran says, her eyes wide and her tone full of fear. "What is that?"

Something large and menacing emerges from the shrubs. You could say, it's at least forty feet tall. Its head large with sharp teeth, short front legs and strong muscular hind ones. From its jaws hangs a piece of bloody meat. Rachel's eyes nearly pop out of her skull. _Is that a tyrannosaurus rex?_ When it sees the teens, it lets out a mighty roar and charges at them.

The four teens scream before Tenzin quickly slams the door shut and locks it.

Tamdin has his hand to his chest as if he were suffering a heart attack. "All right, let's never open that one again. Ever."

"Agreed," Tenzin says, his hand trembling.

"This is why we shouldn't be doing this," Kiran says. "There's no telling what's behind those doors. We could be opening to somewhere dangerous."

"So, the monks don't label the doors or put warning signs that tell us not to open them," Tenzin says, "It's not a big deal."

"Kiran is right though," Rachel says, "We should be more cautious."

"All right, all right. I hear you," Tenzin says annoyingly as he scratches the back of his neck. "I'll open the next door and if I see something not friendly, I'll just close the door."

"And quickly," Kiran says.

"What are you? My mother?" Tenzin says.

There's something in his eyes Rachel can see. Some sort of redness forming near his iris. However, she says nothing, assuming it's probably bloodshot from the lack of sleep.

The second door Tenzin opens shows a cold desolated land with nothing particularly interesting about it, except for a few penguins wobbling across the snow.

"Um, is this supposed to be exciting?" Tamdin asks rhetorically.

"Oh, shut up," Tenzin says.

Rachel sees a baby penguin trip and fall into a small hill of snow. It gets up and shakes off the snow before wobbling back to its mother, screeching in complaint. Rachel smiles a little. It makes her think about how different things would have been if she met her mother. How Rachel would trip and then run crying to her mother after scraping her knee, only for her mother to comfort her. _That would have been nice_.

"That's adorable though," Kiran says.

"All right, shows over," Tenzin says and closes the door.

"Oh, so almost getting eaten by a dinosaur is exciting, but seeing a baby penguin is boring?" Kiran says.

Tamdin steps in. "I want to open the next one."

Tenzin shrugs and gives his brother the keys. Tamdin wastes no time in picking the next door closest to him.

"Didn't we talk about being careful?" Kiran says.

"Don't worry. I am being careful," he says.

The next door Tamdin opens is a wall of water. Rachel and Kiran jump back, startled. For a moment, they thought it would flood the chamber, but it doesn't. It remains still, much to their surprise. Behind the wall of water shows a beautiful coral reef of different colours; pink, orange, reds and purples. Various fishes swim around the reef. When Raven sees a clownfish swim around an anemone, she grins happily.

Kiran points. "Look, an eel."

Rachel squints her narrow eyes. Indeed, there is an eel slithering in a cave, its mouth opens and closes. Its green-coloured flesh is so pretty, it reminds her of spring.

"I'm going to have a closer look," Tamdin says as his hand reaches towards the wall of water.

"You've got to be joking," Kiran says. "You're seriously thinking of going out there?"

"Relax, I'm just going to stick my head through," Tamdin says, "Wanna join?"

"No," the two girls say.

As much as she wants to, Rachel knows that if she and Kiran return home with their heads and robes wet, Harumi and Kiran's parents will wonder where they've been and interrogate them to no end. They could end up in trouble.

Tamdin sticks his head through the liquid wall.

Tenzin laughs and claps his hand on his brother's back. "Try not to get your head bitten off."

Moments later, Tamdin pulls back and coughs profusely. "I swallowed saltwater."

"You're supposed to hold your breath, idiot," Tenzin laughs.

"Are you all right, Tam?" Rachel asks.

"Yes, thank you," Tamdin says.

"Whoa. Who the heck is that?" Tenzin points out.

Rachel looks up to see what he's talking about. A man rides on a great white shark. He's muscular, hair long and dark, and his armour shining gold and emerald. He frowns at the four teens and holds a trident above his head.

Rachel and Kiran gasp.

"Quick, close the door!" Tenzin says.

Tamdin quickly shuts the door and locks it before the fish-man could launch his trident at them.

"That was close," Tamdin says, sighing in relief.

"No kidding," Kiran says.

"But I don't understand," Rachel says, "We open the door to some underwater place. And that man was riding a shark. How is that possible?"

"I assume magic," Tenzin says, "Maybe they made some sort of spell that doesn't allow things from outside Azarath to come through."

"No offence, but I'm pretty certain that fish-man was going to turn us into a kebab," Kiran says.

"Then, I've got nothing," he says, "Let's not dwell on that thought anymore. Who's next?"

Kiran lets out a deep sigh. "I suppose I am."

"Won't you let Rachel first? It's her birthday, after all," Tenzin says.

Rachel shakes her head. "Oh, no. It's fine. I can go last." The truth is, she's still afraid of what might exist on the other side.

Tamdin gives the key to Kiran. She's careful when picking the next door, for she fears something might come through and eat them. Rachel is also quite nervous for when her turn comes. She's not sure what they'll see.

The next door leads to a grand city where skyscrapers stand high in the night sky. No stars are visible. Trains move in and out. And the streets are busy with strange-looking cars. They appear too modern for today's standard cars.

"Wow," Tamdin says, "So this is what the big city looks like."

"I don't like it," Rachel makes a face in revulsion and her head throbs. There are too many emotions and voices crashing down on her like tidal waves.

"It looks hideous," Kiran says, "Even my hometown looks better than this and it's not even a big city."

A sudden explosion causes the kids to cry out and jump back. Orange fire and black smoke emerge behind an alleyway. Rachel and the others watch.

 _What was that?_ Rachel thinks.

Someone dressed like a bat jumps into view in a fighting stance. He looks lean, and the suit is completely black. The insignia on his chest is scarlet red.

"Is that Batman?" Tamdin asks.

"Nah, that's not Batman," Tenzin says, "Batman is bigger and has more muscle. Plus, he doesn't have a red insignia."

Rachel sees what looks like a woman made of black ink and a white-masked face who attacks the man in the bat suit. He ends up kicking the woman into a garbage can. Rachel gasps at the sight.

The bat turns to stare at the kids in shock. "Hey, who the hell are you?"

"Sorry!" Kiran says, "My mistake. We're just passing through."

Kiran slams the door shut and locks it. She and Rachel burst into laughter.

"What the heck was that?" Tenzin chuckles.

"I have no idea," Kiran laughs, "He just saw us. I panicked."

"The look on his face when he saw us," Tamdin laughs.

Rachel hiccups as she giggles in amusement. Tamdin smiles a little.

"That's a cute laugh," he says.

"Oh god no," Rachel laughs.

"Why don't you try asking Rachel on a date already?" Tenzin says, "You've been struggling to flirt with her all night."

Tamdin stops laughing and blushes a light shade of red. Rachel blushes as well, but turns her head so no one would see it. Tamdin offers her the keys to the doors. Rachel shyly takes it.

"Which one will you choose?" Tenzin asks.

"Um, I'm not sure," she says, "I've never done this before."

She glances back at the tapestry after she thought she saw it sway but says nothing.

"Hmm. I think I'll choose this one." Rachel chooses one at the other side of the chamber. The door looks old-fashioned. Like one of those doors, you'd see in a medieval castle.

"That looks interesting," Tenzin says, "I wonder where it leads to or when it leads to."

"Maybe we'll see Queen Elizabeth I," Tamdin says.

"Doubtful," Kiran says.

Rachel steps in front of the door, hesitant at first, before finally opening the door.

The other side of the door shows a room. Plain yet warm-looking, with a flat mat and a few blankets on the floor. The wall ahead appears to be made of paper. Rachel even sees a familiar banzai plant in the corner. Could this be Kyoto? Rachel has never been to Kyoto before, not the town officially at least. In fact, Rachel has never left Azarath. Oh, how tempting it would be for her to crawl into the room and wander beyond the room. Be daring, like she once mentioned before. Be an explorer, like Robison Crusoe or the characters from Jules Verne's novels. Oh, how exciting it would be for her to see the world.

_If only…_

Rachel reaches her hand through the door where the air feels slightly cold. But she's suddenly yanked back by Kiran as soon as footsteps approach. Tenzin draws the door shut, not completely, only ajar enough for the four to see.

A young boy, probably Rachel's age or younger, steps into the room with a frustrated brow creased. Rachel blinks as she observes him intently. He's wearing what looks like a black assassin suit. His complexion is dark, eyes green as the sea and hair black as night. An empty red bag slings loosely over his shoulder. Rachel feels something strong when looking at him. Anger, frustration, sadness, impatience and disappointment. All bottled up in that one boy. When he sets his bag down on the mat, he goes to his drawers at the other side of the room and fishes out a few clothes. _He must be planning to leave somewhere_ , Rachel speculates.

"Who is that kid?" Tamdin whispers the question. "And why did the door lead us here?"

Rachel shrugs. She's not sure. And neither are Tenzin nor Kiran.

She then sees a woman enter the boy's room. She also wears a black suit, and just like the boy, her complexion is dark and her eyes are green. However, her hair is brown and wavy, not black. Rachel can only guess the woman is his mother just from the colour of her eyes alone. The rest probably belong to the father. Whoever it is.

The woman approaches the boy and starts talking to him in a language Rachel can't understand, but she's almost certain it's Arabic. The woman seems to lecture the boy, even grabbing his arm now and then, but the boy ignores her and keeps packing his bag. He yanks his arm from her grasp and snaps back at her in the same language.

"Do you understand what he's saying?" Rachel asks Kiran in a whisper.

"A little," Kiran says. "I think they're arguing about his father or something."

Once he finishes packing, he leaves the room. The mother goes after him.

"Ibn!" the woman shouts.

Rachel remains staring. She feels like she's seen him before but is not sure from where.

Tenzin sighs. "Nothing like family drama to ruin the fun." He shuts the door and snatches the keys from Rachel.

Rachel frowns at Tenzin in annoyance but says nothing. She wanted to watch a little while longer. She even tempted into stepping through the door to follow him. But thanks to Tenzin, she'll never get the chance. _Idiot_.

"My turn again," Tenzin says.

Rachel sighs but follows him. She presses her fingers against her temple, feeling it throb in a dull ache. He has no idea why her head hurts. It didn't hurt before she walked in. Now it's making her dizzy. Kiran rests her hand on her shoulder.

"Are you all right?" she asks.

Rachel nods. "Yes, I'm fine."

However, when they approach a door made of steel, her blood runs cold. Not even touching the door, she already feels like something is very wrong with it. She speaks out before Tenzin can unlock it.

"Wait," she says. Tenzin stops and frowns at her. "I don't think we should open that."

"What? Why not?"

"I…I'm just not sure if it's safe."

"Don't be a sissy. What could go wrong?"

"Tenzin, maybe you should listen," Kiran says. She knows fully well to listen to Rachel. Whenever Rachel has a bad feeling, she always ends up being right. Like when Kiran once got bitten by a centipede when she was eight after she foolishly thought it was a worm. Rachel told her not to touch because it was dangerous, but Kiran didn't listen until it bit her.

"Everything is fine," Tenzin says as he unlocks the door.

"Tenzin, wait –."

Too late. Tenzin opens the door, revealing another city. Everyone's eyes widen at the sight of it. The skies are scarlet, clouded by dark smoke. Half of the buildings have been destroyed, rubble scattering the ground. Military vehicles move back and forth. Gunfire and planes can be heard. So much noise. So much chaos. Rachel trembles. Her eyes fill with tears as many emotions plague her. Rage. Hatred. Bigotry. Desperation. Hopelessness. Despair. Terror. A dreadful chant fills her head, praising a creature of pure and unrepentant evil.

Rachel covers her ears to block out the chant, but they continue to ring into her brain violently. She grits her teen and tears fall down her cheeks.

"Shut the door!" she says.

"What?" Tenzin says.

"Just shut the door, please," she begs. "Close the door, Tenzin."

"But I haven't finished yet," he says.

Rachel soon starts shouting at him. "Shut the door! Shut the door right now!" She charges forward but gets held back by Tamdin. "Shut the fucking door!"

"Woah! Woah, easy Rachel," Tamdin says.

Kiran looks at Tenzin sternly. "Either you close it or I will, Tenzin."

He rolls his eyes. "All right, fine." He closes the door and shuts it tightly.

The dreadful feeling washes away almost instantly, leaving Rachel shocked and shaken at what she just experienced.

* * *

Harumi returns to the Singh's house where Mr and Mrs Singh are serving themselves another slice of cake along with a glass of white wine while they whisper to each other flirtatiously. Mrs Singh's cheeks even turn red. When they finally see Harumi enter, they quickly break away and pretend they weren't about to fornicate openly in the parlour.

"Oh, Harumi, you're back," Mrs Singh says in a surprised tone while patting down her robe. "Is the meeting over already?"

"I left early," Harumi says, "I decided not to skip out on a birthday. It is the most important day of Rachel's life, and I rather not ruin it for her by not being here. Where is Rachel anyway?"

"She and Kiran left," Mr Singh says.

Harumi looks perplexed. "Left?"

"Yes, I believe they went off for a walk," Mrs Singh says.

"But we also saw them running with two boys," Mr Singh says. "Kiran thought she could trick, but we saw them. We said nothing. But if they don't return by eleven, I'm grounding her. You should do that same with Rachel."

Harumi frowns. _Two boys?_

"Dhule, why would you say that about her and our daughter?" Mrs. Singh says. "You know they're responsible and would never do such a thing."

"Well, they're teenagers," Mr. Singh says.

"I'm sorry," Harumi says, "But what boys?"

"Two boys," Mrs. Singh says. "I think it was Tenzin and Tamdin."

Harumi sighs in frustration. "Those boys are going to get them into trouble. Did the girls say where they were going?"

"I think they were going to the pond for a swim," Mrs Singh says.

Harumi rolls her eyes. She is rather fond of the Singh family, especially Kiran, who has been kind to Rachel since childhood and has always been a wonderful influence on her. Her parents are good people as well. However, they can be a little careless as they're not really looking after Rachel like they promised. Kiran seems to be the only adult in the family who cares for Rachel's well-being.

"Well, I better go find them," she says.

"Harumi, relax," Mrs Singh says, "I'm sure they're fine. Kiran is with Rachel and they'll take good care of each other." Her face makes an awkward expression. "That did not come out well, did it?"

"Dhani, I'm not worried about whether Rachel and Kiran are having intercourse. I'm worried because Rachel is epileptic and anything can provoke a seizure."

"That's right. I forgot about that. That is concerning. Oh, I'm sorry, Harumi, we should have known better."

"It's all right. I'll go get the girls." Harumi leaves the house and heads for the pond, not knowing that Rachel is not really there, as it is another lie Kiran told her parents.

* * *

Rachel had been seated down after the incident in order to keep her calm. Kiran sits next to her, cleaning her tears and letting her rest her head on her shoulder. Rachel wishes to return and forget she ever saw that horrible scene and heard the voice. And yet, even with the door shut, she can still hear it. However, they sound different. They're not chanting the same chant. She hears another name. _Akumu. Akumu. Akumu_. It's something she heard before. And now it won't stop.

She tried to be fearless, but failed miserably. Tenzin is annoyed by her reaction, constantly glaring at her.

Kiran notices and snaps at him. "Would you stop? This is serious. She's scared to death."

"Hey, Tenzin, maybe we should listen," Tamdin says, "This is getting dangerous."

"You want to stop and go home?" Tenzin says. Rachel can sense the rhetorical tone in his voice. "Fine. You can go. But you two are not ruining the fun for me."

"This doesn't feel like fun anymore," Tamdin comments, earning an annoyed look from his brother.

"Are you crazy?" Kiran says. "We're never doing this again. Besides, you've already opened enough doors."

"Not the ones that are floating in the air," Tenzin says, "Tam, see if you can find me a ladder to climb. I want to reach one."

Tamdin glares at him but says nothing and goes to find a ladder. Though Rachel doubts there's any ladder. If she has seen no ladder, then there isn't one.

"Haven't you had enough already?" Kiran asks. "Look at Rachel. She's getting sick."

"Doesn't she always look sick?" Tenzin asks.

Kiran storms over to him. "Listen here —"

"Kiran!" Rachel gets up and grabs her arm. "It's okay. I'm fine."

"Well, I don't think this is fine. I knew this was a bad idea. We should just go home."

Rachel sighs and nods. "You're right. I think we should. I'm sorry I convince you to come here."

"It's not your fault. These idiots shouldn't have come to us in the first place. Come on, let's go."

Kiran leads Rachel out of the chamber.

"Hey, Tenzin, look at this!" Tamdin calls out.

Rachel looks over her shoulder. Tamdin had pushed the purple tapestry, revealing a crimson red door framed by brown wood. She stops cold in her tracks and her eyes widen. Kiran looks at her, confused.

"What is it?" she asks.

"I don't think they should touch that one."

"What? Why?"

"There's something there. I hear it. Calling to me. Don't open it."

Rachel sees Tenzin approach the door with the keys. She quickly rushes to him and snatches the keys from him.

"No," she says firmly.

"What the hell is wrong with you right now?" he says.

"That door was hidden behind the curtain for a reason. For us to not see. I don't know why, but there's something dangerous behind that door. Don't you dare try to open it."

Tenzin chuckles a little, but Rachel can tell he's losing his patience. "Are you joking? You're joking. What? Do you think there's something evil in there? Worse than the last door? Or are you trying to get attention like always?"

"Are you even listening to what you're saying, Tenzin?" Kiran says.

 _No, he's not_. Rachel can tell something is not right with Tenzin. Ever since they entered the Chamber of Worlds, his mannerism seems to change drastically. At first, he came here for some light-hearted fun, but now, he looks frustrated. Almost desperate. And angry. There's a slight redness in his eyes that has not been there before and his pupils had grown, nearly turning his eyes black. _This is not good. Not good at all_. There's something not right, and Rachel is almost certain that it has to do with the door.

"Tenzin, you're not well," she says. "We need to get you out of here too."

"Give me back the keys, Rachel," Tenzin says.

"No," she says.

Tamdin approaches him. "Brother, you must listen. She's right."

Tenzin takes a step back when Tamdin tries to grab his arm. "Don't touch me."

"We need to get you to Father Torao and Mother Harumi," Kiran says.

"Tenzin, please listen," Rachel says, but Tenzin quickly grabs the keys and pushes her away, much to everyone's shock. Kiran quickly runs to her side to make sure she's all right.

"Brother, stop this!" Tamdin tries to grab the keys from him, but he's suddenly shoved across the chamber.

Rachel and Kiran gasp. They have never seen Tamdin perform such strength before, nor have they ever seen him be so violent towards his brother. Instead of trying to snatch the keys from Tenzin again, Rachel and Kiran rush to help Tamdin. It's not worth risking their lives trying to fight Tenzin for the keys, now knowing he has the capacity to take Rachel and Kiran down. Toss them across the chamber as he did to his brother.

Kiran lifts Tamdin's head. Rachel rests her hand on his chest where she feels it beat against his palm.

Rachel sighs in relief. "His heart still moves. He lives."

"Thank goodness. But now we have a bigger problem."

Indeed. Tenzin is looking through the key ring, searching for the correct one to open the door. Rachel hasn't thought of this until now. _How does he know which key is the right one?_

The voices. They keep getting louder in her head. _Akumu. Akumu. Akumu_. Rachel is almost certain that once Tenzin opens the door, they're done for.

"Can't you use your light powers to blind him?" Rachel asks Kiran as she almost forgot about her powers.

"I don't. They only work if I think happy thoughts, and right now, my thoughts are the least happy."

Tenzin finds the key and shoves it into the keyhole.

Rachel's eyes grow wide. "He cannot open the door. Stay with Tamdin."

Getting up, she runs towards Tamdin as fast as she can.

"Rachel, no! He'll hurt you!" she shouts, but Rachel ignores her.

She reaches for him. "Tenzin!"

Too late. As soon as he turns the key, the door swings wide open, revealing a dark red whirlpool circling, fire and lightning flashing brightly. Rachel stops in her tracks and stares in complete shock and awe. It's so bright and colourful. _What am I doing? I need to stop Tenzin. Not admire what he opened_. Yet, she can't move. She is frozen on the spot, staring at the portal. Why can I not move?

Tenzin stands in front of the portal, his arms extended to his side in praise to it. "Look at it! Admire where you were born, Akumu! Embrace it! It's so beautiful!"

There it is again. This is the third time someone has called her Akumu. And what does he mean by "where you were born" and "embrace it". _Embrace what?_

But before Rachel can ask Tenzin, or whatever is left of him, red light surrounds him and he yells in pain. Rachel jumps back, afraid it might infest her as well.

Tamdin regains consciousness as he opens his eyes. His face becomes full of terror when he sees his brother screaming while consumed by the red light. Tenzin's eyes roll back, showing vacant whites in his eyes, and his jaw falls agape as he disintegrates into nothing. No ash. No bones. Just nothing.

"Brother!" Tamdin shouts.

Rachel watches in complete horror. She has never seen one disintegrate. Only in movies. But this is real. What happened to Tenzin was real. That portal is real. Where does it lead to? Rachel is not sure. And she's not sure she wants to find out.

"Rachel, close the door!"

Gladly. By a sheer miracle, the keys did not disintegrate along with Tenzin. They rest on the floor. Rachel quickly picks them up, the metal still warm from Tenzin's hands, and quickly pushes the door shut before locking it.

The voices in her head finally stop. Everything falls into dead silence.

Rachel looks back at Tamdin, panting in exhaustion. Tears fill his eyes as he tries to process what just happened.

Kiran tries helping him get back onto his feet. "We have to get you to the monks," she says.

"Is it over?" he asks, sniffling. "Did that really just happened? Is Tenzin really gone?"

"I…I don't know," Rachel says.

It's not a complete lie. She's not sure whether or not he's gone. It looks like it. But she's not sure if giving Tamdin the answer will make things better or worse.

Before Rachel can say anything, she hears the door bang. She turns around. There's a large crack in the middle of the door. It becomes bigger as someone (or something) pounds from the other side.

"Kiran, I locked the door, didn't I?" Rachel asks. "The door should have disappeared from the other world, right?"

"Yeah?... I… I suppose so."

"Then, what's knocking on our door —?"

The door suddenly splinters from the bottom. A grotesque red hand bursts through the door, reaching for Rachel's face and she screams.

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter was a little too long, guys. Hopefully, the next chapter doesn't take another few years to write.**


	6. Fancast

**Just so everyone knows, this is my own interpretation of the characters in this story. So, sorry if the casting doesn't fit your image of the characters XD**

**Nana Komatsu** as Rachel Roth/Raven

**Matt Ryan** as John Constantine

**Yuki Amani** as Harumi Nozaki

**Finn Whittrock** as Richard Grayson/Nightwing

**Eline Powell** as Orchid

**Tom Hiddleston** as Jason Blood/Etrigan

**Kelvin Harrison Jr.** as Victor Stone

**Eva Green** as Zatanna Zatara

**Jeremy Davies** as Ritchie Simmons

**Michael Fassbender** as Bruce Wayne/Batman

**Elodie Yung** as Selina Kyle/Catwoman

**Gal Gadot** as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman

**Aramis Knight** as Ibn al-Ghul/Damian

**Rila Fukushima** as Angela Hirose Roth/Arella

**Charles Dance** as Alfred Pennyworth

**Hunter Schafer** as Norah Burnes

**Owen Teague** as Bernard “Barney” Venton

**Georgie Henley** as Davina Fisher

**Austin Abrams** as Eric Forrester

**Ken Watanabe** as Father Torao

**Angela Basset** as Elinore Stone

**Sterling K. Brown** as Silas Stone

**Banita Sandhu** as Kiran Singh/Solstice

**Sophie Turner** as Sarah Simms

**Jyo Kairi** as Jared Yoshie/Wrath

**Seiya Matsunda** as Jesse/Envy

**Lewis Tan** as Jacob Shun/Lust

**Nijiro Murakami** as Jack/Sloth

**Hyun Bin** as James Park/Greed

**Takato Yonemoto** as Johnathan/Gluttony

**Yasmine al-Massri** as Talia al-Ghul

**Jude Law** as Steve Roth

**Caleb Landry Jones** as Klarion

**Peter Mensah** as King Shark

**Manu Bennett** as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke

**And yes, I am including King Shark in this story just because of that one scene in _Justice League Dark: Apokalypse War_. lol**


	7. Only a Matter of Time

**Not really good with action so I'm sorry about this. XD Please leave a like and tell me what you think of the chapter.**

* * *

Harumi goes to the pond where Mrs. Singh claimed the kids would be. But they’re not here. _They’re not here!_ Kiran must have lied to them so they wouldn’t worry. _But where did they go?_ If they’re with Tenzin and Tamdin, they’re sure to get into trouble. Where are they? Damn it, Kiran. Where the fuck are you two?

Screams suddenly fill the air. Harumi quickly turns around. One of the screams happens to be Rachel’s. She knows how Rachel screams. They’re almost like wails. They’re coming from Azarath’s town square. That’s almost near… _the chamber_. Harumi’s eyes grow wide and she runs back to Azarath.

Harumi hears a shatter. Windows are being broken. A father, mother and child run out of their home screaming. Harumi looks at them in confusion. _What’s going on?_ Before she can ask them, a dark red mass surges from the home. Four yellow eyes and sharp teeth. _Oh shit_. It grins at Harumi and crawls in her direction. She puts her hands together and chants her prayers, which seems to piss it off. It hisses and growls before running away. Harumi sighs in relief. But the question still lingers in her head.

_How are they here? How did they get out?_

Someone must have found the door and opened it. No one is supposed to know about the door. Unless… _Oh Azar, it better not be you, Rachel. Please don’t let it be you_.

More and more people proceed to run screaming. Demons fly around Azarath in a swarm of dark red clouds. They crash into the house through the windows, causing the inhabitants to run away screaming. One of the houses catches fire. The bright torrid flames burst through the windows, glass flying everywhere. Harumi covers her face with her arms to avoid getting cut by the shards.

She searches for the kids as the chaos ensues. She gets pushed, pulled and nearly knocked over by the fleeing crowd. She spots Father Torao, who quickly grabs her by the arm.

“What’s going on?” he asks harshly.

“I don’t know,” Harumi says.

“Where is Rachel?” he asks.

“You don’t think she did this, do you?” It would be awful if Rachel actually opened the door, but she rather not think that way so soon. She needs to find her fast.

An explosion and loud roar echoes throughout the town. There are only three demons in sight, so that’s a good thing. But they’re going so fast, it’s hard to tell where they’ll be next. They’re like flies. And judging by what demons they are, they won’t be easily defeated by just one monk. Father Torao needs to find the other fathers. But there’s no telling how long that will take.

Father Torao glares at Mother Harumi briefly before exhaling. “I’ll take care of this. Just find Rachel. Now.”

She nods and runs off.

Harumi eventually finds Kiran hiding under a marble staircase with Tamdin. His head rests on her lap with his eyes closed. Harumi looks in shock. _Dear Azar, he’s unconscious_. She rushes over to them.

“Kiran!”

Kiran sees her and cries. “Mother Harumi!”

“What happened!?” Harumi shouts. “Where is Rachel!?”

“We got separated!”

“Where!?”

“She went to close the door!”

Harumi stares at her in disbelief. “What did you kids do?”

“We didn’t know! It was an accident!”

Shit. Rachel, what have you done?

“All right. Stay here!”

A demon suddenly appears before them. Kiran screams and holds Tamdin close. Harumi turns to face it. The demon grins and lunges forward.

“ _Where is she!?”_

Harumi thrusts her hand towards it as she screams in an unfamiliar language and bright light shoots out of her palm. The light burns right through the demon’s face, and it disappears into a dark fog. Kiran looks at her in complete shock. Harumi sighs. She wasn’t supposed to see that.

“I think you should get Tamdin out of here,” Harumi says. 

“Tamdin is too heavy,” Kiran said.

“Then stay here. And don’t move until I get back.”

“But what if more of those things come for us?”

“Use your happy thoughts to activate your powers.”

“But Mother Harumi —.”

“Just do it!” Harumi shouted before running off to find Rachel.

She rushed to the Chamber of Worlds, where she finally found Rachel.

* * *

After letting Kiran drag Tamdin away to safety, Rachel stands in front of the red door, trying to push it shut. She grits her teeth and groans in frustration as she tries to close it to no avail. When she hears footsteps, she gasps and turns around in fear, only to be relieved by the sight of Mother Harumi. Tears fall down Rachel’s face as she weeps.

“Mother, help me!”

Mother Harumi rushes to her, eyes large. She quickly grabs Rachel by the arm and pulls her away harshly. “What did you do?”

Rachel looks at her, bewildered by her words. “What did I do? What are you talking about?... You think _I_ did this?”

Harumi stares at her intently. Rachel can tell she’s being serious. Her eyes water at the thought of Harumi — freaking Harumi — accusing her of something as dangerous as opening a door to a dark dimension. The only person Rachel trusts doesn’t trust her. _Why would she think I would do this?_

Rachel’s upper lip curls up in an angry snarl, unaware of her eyes turning dark. “I’m trying to close it.”

Harumi’s stern expression soon softens. “Let’s just close the door. Okay? Before anything else comes out. Then we can talk about this. All right?”

Hesitantly, Rachel nods in agreement. She and Harumi try to push the door forward, but it only manages to adjust. As if something was holding it to make sure it didn’t close.

Rachel’s eyes soon shift towards the portal where she spots a horrifying dark figure with long horns and four glowing yellow eyes. It reaches a large hand towards her. Rachel squeals in terror and jumps back, her face pale and full of terror.

“Akumu!” it shouts. “Come to me!”

_Akumu._

Her fear slowly fades as she stares at the demon’s eyes longer. Her heartbeat slows. And for some reason, her foot moves forward, despite her mind screaming for her not to do so. She’s compelled to enter the portal. Even Harumi shouting her name is nothing but an echo in her head as she extends her hand towards it.

Harumi immediately jumps in front of Rachel, stopping her from going any further. “No! You’re not having her! You must kill me first!”

The demon smiles, exposing its sharp white teeth.

Harumi is suddenly flung in the air. Her body spins rapidly in the air and ultimately crashes onto the wall, cracking the marble. Rachel screams and runs to her side.

“Mother!” she cries out.

Harumi moans in pain as she turns on her side. Blood trickles down her forehead. She yelps when Rachel touches her shoulder. Rachel jumps back, gasping.

“Mother…”

“Leave,” she says. She looks like she’s going to throw up. “Run and hide.”

“No, I’m not leaving you.” Rachel sniffles, not knowing what else to do. She can’t carry Harumi to safety. She’s far too heavy. And Rachel refuses to leave to get help. If she does, Harumi might be dead by the time she returns with the elders.

Hands grab Rachel’s ankles and she’s dragged away from Harumi. Rachel shrieks. Her fingers claws at the tiled floor. Harumi shouts and grabs hold of Rachel’s ruby pendant, the only thing she’s able to grip in order to keep her from being taken. Rachel looks over her shoulder and screams once more. Two demons have taken hold of her ankles and pull her forcefully. Their eyes equally glow yellow and their unified grins are gleaming and grotesque. Their claws dig into Rachel’s pale flesh, making her cry and hiss in pain. They’re obviously trying to drag her to the portal. 

“Mother!” she yells.

“Hold on, Rachel!”

Another demon grabs Harumi by the throat and pulls her away. Her hand tears Rachel’s pendant from her throat and its red glow fades. The demon lifts her against the wall. Harumi gags and chokes. 

Rachel yells. “Mother!”

“A…a..zarath…” Harumi gags, trying to spit out the mantra but could not do so.

 _Say it, Mother_ , Rachel thought, _you can do it. Say it. Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos. Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos._

As Rachel repeats the mantra in her head, something grows within her. An intensity is building up in her system. Seeing Harumi struggle for air and unable to defend herself makes Rachel’s impatience deepen. Her blood boils in rage. The demons tried to kill her friends; they attack Azarath; they used Tenzin and killed him afterwards, they’re strangling Harumi and now they’re trying to drag her away from her home. Rachel has never felt so much anger in her entire life. _I’m not having this!_ A deep version of her voice growls darkly in her head.

Eventually, Rachel’s eyes glow black. She lifts her hand towards one of the demons and a black shadow blasts into its face, causing it to fly back with a guttural scream as if it’s been burned by something hot. The other demon that had been gripping her ankle lunges to attack her but finds itself lifted into the air, surrounded by dark shadows. Rachel glares at it, the darkness in her eyes intensifying. Streaks of white line her black hair and her face takes a light shade of red. With the swing of her arm, the demon is flung into the direction of the other demon strangling Harumi. They both crash into the wall, Harumi finally released.

Harumi falls to her knees, gasping for air. She coughs, wheezes and gags. Eyes water as well. She looks up at Rachel with a stunned expression.

Rachel stares back at her, her face cold and her eyes vacant from emotion. She speaks in the same deep voice. “You can’t keep your lies forever.”

One of the demons emerges from the rubble and attacks Rachel again. She lifts it in the air and with a scream; she tears the demon’s body in two, dark blood and entrails splattering onto the ground. Her screeches are like that of a bird. She then throws the demon into the portal. The other demon attacks, but she quickly grabs it by the throat and smashes it at the wall. The demon screeches and thrashes as it struggles to pry away from Rachel’s grasp, only for her to squeeze tighter, eventually hearing a bone snap.

Rachel’s eyes bear into the demon’s and she growls. “ _I am not going with any of you_.”

She tosses the demon aside, but it quickly rises to its feet. The other demon she had tossed earlier stands beside it. They both growl and threaten to lunge forward. Rachel growls back.

“ _Azarath Metrion Zinthos!_ ” she shouts as she holds her arms in the air and a giant bird-like shadow shoots up from her body. It leans forward and envelopes the two demons in its darkness. Their eyes widen. Their shrieks echo throughout the chamber as they effortlessly try to find their way of escaping. Harumi simply sits on the floor with a shocked expression on her face.

The demon in the portal narrows its eyes as he observes what is happening.

Rachel sees this and screams angrily. “GET OUT!” Using the shadows, she shoots the demons back into the door. It slams shut by itself before exploding in fragments and splinters.

* * *

Ignoring the pain on her shoulder, Harumi slowly stands up from the floor and cautiously walks towards Rachel. _She saved me. She saved us all_ , she thinks.

She rests her hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “Karasu —”

Rachel turns around and grabs Harumi by the throat, lifting her in the air. Harumi kicks and claws at the girl’s wrist. When looking at her neck, Harumi realizes Rachel is not wearing the amulet. Her eyes turn the corner. The amulet is lying just a few feet from her. She remembers now. She tore it off Rachel. _What an idiot I am. This is my doing_.

“ _You will not keep me locked up forever_ ,” Rachel growls. “ _I will kill you if that means I’ll get my freedom_.”

“…And I will not let you hurt Rachel for your selfishness.”

White light flashes from Harumi’s hand and into Rachel’s eyes. Harumi turns away to avoid being blinded as well. The first time she tried these new abilities that only the monks can perform, she accidentally blinded herself and could not see for an entire day. Rachel cries out and falls to the floor, covering her eyes. Harumi quickly grabs the amulet.

“ _You bitch!_ ” Rachel screams.

Harumi lunges behind Rachel and puts the amulet around her neck. The moment she does so, Rachel gasps, her face returns to normal, and she collapses to the ground, convulsing slightly.

Harumi kneels next to her and holds her up. “Rachel. Rachel!”

After a minute of twitching and grunting, her eyes blink open and she stares at Harumi tiredly.

“What just happened?” she asks. A line of blood trickles down her nose. She must have used too much force.

Harumi forces a smile. _She might not remember_. She then shakes her head. “You fainted, my darling. They hit you in the head. But I saved you. You’re safe now.”

Rachel stares at her for a moment in silence. “…You’re lying.”

Harumi frowns.

“You’re lying,” Rachel says, “It let me see it all. It let me see what I could do under its control. And told me to ask you how long I’ve had them once I regained control of my body.”

Harumi’s eyes widen. She then realizes. When the demon inside Rachel attacked her. It was all a test to see what she’d do. To let Rachel see. _That beast played me_.

“I have powers, don’t I?” Rachel asks sternly. “I did this, didn’t I?”

Before Harumi can answer, Rachel hangs her head back and faints. Harumi’s face contorts as she sobs. She knows she can’t keep the lies buried for long. The truth will eventually come to the surface and it could bring disastrous results. Father Yamada is right. It might too dangerous for Rachel to be here anymore. Those demons already know where she is and they won’t stop until they get to her again. And they’ll destroy anything and anyone that gets in the way. But she finds herself not having the heart of getting rid of Rachel. She loves her too much for that. And Rachel will never survive on her own. She’ll be all alone and helpless. And there’s no telling if it will just make things worse for everyone.

_What am I to do? Please, Azar, tell me. What do I do?_


	8. No Longer Safe

**Finally getting to introduce Damian in this chapter. Sorry, it took a little while guys. After all, this is a Raven-centric story. But after a while, Damian will have a few more scenes to be active in. I promise :)**

* * *

Rachel sits next to Tamdin’s bed and holds his hand. Waiting for him to wake up. She knows that when he wakes up, he’s going to need their support. He just lost his brother. _Poor Tamdin. Poor Tenzin_. Even though Tenzin was the one who opened the door, She still feels it’s her fault. 

_Those things were after me. Because I’m just like them_. _I’m just like them and no one bothered to tell me._

Rachel still hasn’t spoken to Harumi since last night’s incident. She was taken to the infirmary after she fainted. When she woke up in the morning, Harumi came to visit so Rachel pretended to be asleep. Whether Harumi knew she was pretending to be asleep or not is up for debate. The only thing Rachel knows is that Harumi walked out silently. Tears had filled her eyes after that. She doesn’t know how to face Harumi now after everything that happened. After all the lies. _How long has she been lying?_ How long has she known about me having powers? 

Kiran sits next to Rachel and places her hand on her shoulder. “He’s going to be alright, you know. The nurses said it was just a concussion.” 

Rachel looks at her tearfully. “Did that really just happen? Those demons were here in Azarath. One of them tried to strangle Mother Harumi and I…” 

“You what?” Kiran asks. 

“I…This is going to sound insane,” Rachel says, looking down shamefully. “But I think I have powers…” 

Kiran stares at Rachel in astonishment. “What? Are you serious?” 

“Yes. I don’t know how or why, but I do. I have powers now.” 

“But Rachel, that’s great, isn’t it? You always said you wanted to have powers like me. Now we both have powers. What’s your power? Tell me.” 

“That’s the thing that worries me. I still don’t know what my powers are. But for some reason, these powers feel dark and dangerous. I’m not sure how to explain it but there is something inside of me. Something wicked. It used me to slaughter a demon last night. And it feels like it’s been in there all my life, waiting to come out.” 

“Why would you think that?” 

“Maybe deep down inside, I am dark and wicked.” 

“You can’t think like that,” Kiran says, “You’re not wicked, Rachel. You're a good person. Whatever is inside of you can’t be all bad.” 

Rachel wants to believe her. She really does. Yet, she feels Kiran is wrong. There’s something awful growing inside her. Why it decided to come out this night is beyond her comprehension. 

“Does Mother Harumi know?” Kiran asks. 

_That’s an excellent question_ , she thinks as she bites her nails. 

“I’m not sure,” she says. “She saw me use them for the first time, but the look on her face, it’s like she already knew.” 

Kiran raises an eyebrow. “For a place that’s supposed to promote peace and sincerity, the monks here are full of bullshit. How can they keep something so important from you?” 

“I’m not sure —” 

“You!” 

Sister Ami approaches Rachel and Kiran. “Get out!” she snaps angrily. 

Kiran stares at Sister Ami, surprised. “But we weren’t doing anything wrong.”

“Not you. You can stay but _she_ needs to leave,” Sister Ami says, pointing at Rachel.

Rachel stares at her, eyes wide. “What? Me? Why?” 

“Your presence is not wanted here. You’ll scare the other patients. Haven’t you’ve done enough damage already?” Sister Ami says. 

“But what did I even do?”

“You know what you did,” Sister Ami says. 

“Hey, leave her alone,” Kiran says. “What are you snapping at her for?”

“Why are you defending her? You know this is her fault,” Sister Ami says. 

“No, it’s not,” Kiran says. 

“I didn’t do anything,” Rachel says. 

“Oh so not only are you a trouble-maker but a liar as well,” Sister Ami says, “Get out. Right now.” 

Rachel stares in shock but quickly gets up when Sister Ami marches over to her. _Does she know about my abilities? Like Mother Harumi? Who else knows? Do the fathers know?_

“Sister Ami, I swear —” 

The sister’s hand smacks her across the face and Rachel yelps. Gasping, Kiran gets between them and pushes Sister Ami roughly. 

“What is wrong with you!?” Kiran snaps at her. 

Sister Ami grits her teeth at her angrily. “You wouldn’t be near her if you realized what kind of monster she is!” 

“Rachel is not a monster, what is the matter with you!?” 

“She’s —.” 

“Sister Ami!” 

Mother Harumi storms into the infirmary and confronts Sister Ami. She sees Rachel sniffling and rubbing her reddened cheek. Mother Harumi gives Sister Ami a venomous look. 

“What have you done to her?” 

“How can you still defend her?” Sister Ami snaps. “After everything she did last night.” 

Harumi hisses in anger. “She didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You lie for her as well? Knowing that she caused all those demons to attack us?” 

Kiran jumps in Rachel’s defence. “Rachel didn’t do it. It was Tenzin. He opened the door and all those demons came out. Rachel tried to close it.” 

Harumi looks at her in surprise. “Tenzin?” 

“Yes. It was supposed to be a game. A foolish game. We didn’t know what kind of door he was opening in the end. We wanted to leave but he wanted to open more doors. Rachel tried to stop him from opening the last one but he was acting strange. His eyes changed. He got aggressive. And he threw Tamdin to the wall. He was the one who hurt Tamdin, not Rachel.” 

“Where is Tenzin?”

“…Dead,” Kiran says. “He disintegrated when the door opened. When Rachel closed the door, a hand burst through. That wasn’t supposed to happen, right? Once you close the door, they disappear from the other world, right?’ 

“Right. But clearly, that didn’t happen.”

“It doesn’t matter who opened the door, does it? They still came,” Sister Ami points at her. Rachel sniffles and looks away. Kiran puts her arms around her to comfort her. “For her. And they’ll come back as long as she stays here. And if Azarath gets destroyed, it will be all her fault—.”

“Shut it, Ami.” 

“You know I’m right!” 

“That’s enough!” 

Father Torao’s voice echoes against the walls as he and Father Yamada enter the infirmary. Father Yamada glares at both Rachel and Harumi. Rachel wipes her tears while Harumi glares back. 

Rachel approaches the elders. “Father Torao, please tell Sister Ami I didn’t do anything.” 

“You stay out of this, demon. You’ve done enough damage as it is.” 

“Demon?” Rachel looks at him in confusion. “Why do you call me that? Why?” 

“Why don’t you ask Mother Harumi?” Father Yamada tells her. 

Rachel turns to Harumi who remains glaring at Father Yamada. 

“Mother…” 

Harumi doesn’t answer. Rachel looks at everyone, confused and shocked. 

“Is that what I am to all of you now?” Upset, she storms out of the infirmary. 

Kiran gives at the four elders a pissed look. “You’re all assholes!” She then goes after Rachel.

Father Yamada looks at Harumi with a proud smirk on his face. “It seems I was right.”

“Not now, Yamada,” Father Torao says gravelly. 

“What?” Father Yamada says, “Are you to silence me as well? When we both know this would eventually happen?” 

Father Torao sighs before turning his attention to Harumi. “…Yamada is right about one thing, Harumi. The lies can’t continue. You need to tell her.” 

Harumi shakes her head. “I don’t know how to tell her.” 

“It better be soon,” Father Torao says. “Sister Ami is right. They’ll be back. They already know where she is. It’s time to face the reality, Harumi.” 

She sighs and nods. “I understand.” 

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, the remains of the demon Rachel had torn to shreds still remains buried beneath the rubble. Its black bloody sludge slowly oozes its way between the cracks and slides across the marble floor like a slug. It ultimately finds a ventilator on the floor and disappears into it. 

“Trigon! Yessss.” it chants. 

* * *

Rachel sits on a rock near the pond, sniffling and with her hands to her face. She has never felt this humiliated in her entire life. Sister Ami, Father Torao and Father Yamada…Every one of them hate her now and she doesn’t know why. And not even Harumi was of any help. Kiran is seated next to her, hugging Rachel in comfort. At the same time, they squeeze each other’s hand. At least Kiran doesn’t hate her. But how long will that? It will only be a matter of time before she ends up hating her as well. And there’s a good chance Tamdin might hate her too. His brother is dead after all. 

Hearing footsteps approaching, Rachel lifts her head and sees Mother Harumi approaching them. Her posture is poise and her face remains stoic. But Rachel can feel the fear and the anxiety in her. She doesn’t know why but she can feel it oozing from every pour of her body, just like she can feel the disappointing rage in Kiran. 

“I would like to speak with Rachel,” Harumi says. “Alone.” 

Kiran glares at her. “Why? You people already made her cry.” 

“Now,” Harumi says sternly. 

Rachel sniffles and wipes her tears with the back of her hands. She then puts her hand on Kiran’s shoulder and gives her a fake smile. “It’s all right, Kiran. I’m fine.” Even though, it’s not all right. 

Kiran hesitates but eventually sighs and gets up. “Call me if you need anything, all right?”

“Thank you,” Rachel says. 

Kiran glares at Harumi briefly before walking away, still not happy with how the elders treated Rachel. 

Rachel and Harumi are finally alone. Harumi silently walks closer to Rachel and slowly sits next to her. Rachel remains silent and stares down, not wanting to look at her in the eyes. Harumi lets out a deep breath. She takes hold of Rachel’s hand but the teen gently pulls her hand away.

Harumi sighs. “You must have a lot of questions.” 

“I do. Yet, I’m not sure if I want to know the answers to them.” 

“I’m not sure if I want you to know either.” 

Rachel turns her gaze to Harumi. “Is it true? Am I a demon?” 

“I…I don’t know what to tell you.” 

“How about you start telling me the truth? Is it true what Father Yamada said? Am I a demon? Is that why Sister Ami didn’t want me near Tamdin? Is that why she fears me so much?” 

“You mustn’t listen to Father Yamada, Karasu. You know he will do anything to hurt you. Even lie.” 

“Mother, you’re hurting me now.”

“I would never hurt you.” Harumi reaches to pet her head. 

Rachel abruptly gets up and marches away from her, clearly angry at her constant lying. Harumi gets up and follows her. 

“Rachel…” 

“You’re lying to me.” 

“I would never do this to hurt you. You must trust me.”

Rachel stares at her in disbelief. _Is she joking right now?_ “Trust you? How am I supposed to you when you won’t even tell me the truth!?” she shouts. 

Harumi remains silent. She knows Rachel is right, even if she won’t admit it. 

“Am I a demon or not?” Rachel asks once more. 

“…Yes.” 

Rachel didn’t know how to react. She expected a different answer. _No, you’re not a demon. You’re just crazy. That’s all. Just crazy_. But now it’s worse when even Harumi tells you you’re not human.

She rakes back her bangs and nearly stumbles back. “No…No.” 

“I’m so sorry, Rachel. We were going to tell you.” 

“When? When I’m older and grey? When you’re dead?” 

“No, of course not. I was planning on telling you yesterday.” 

“You should have told me when I was five. Is that why those monsters tried to drag me with them? I’m one of them?” 

Harumi shakes her head. “No, you’re not one of them. You’re special. You’re a good person and none of those beasts has what you have.”

“You’ve known all this time and you didn’t tell me. How long? How long have you known?” 

Harumi doesn’t answer. She instead chews on her lower lip. 

“Harumi, how long?” Rachel insists. 

Harumi sniffles. “When you were a baby, you were born covered in black blood. When you opened your eyes for the first time, they were black as ink. A week later, they took the colour of your mother’s. You were so small, pale and fragile. Yet, your mind was strong. You made all the lights in Azarath flicker. And the pond’s water floated in the air.” 

“You knew since I was born then?” 

“Yes.” 

Rachel then starts to think about how her mother could have died. “Oh my god, did _I_ kill my mother when I was born?” 

Harumi quickly puts her arms around Rachel. “No, don’t say that. You didn’t kill your mother. She…She died of health complications during birth.” 

“That counts though, doesn’t it?” 

“No, Rachel. Her death has nothing to do with you.” 

Rachel bites her nails anxiously, something Harumi always told her not to do because it’s bad manners, but at this point, she doesn’t care. Nor does she believe a single word Harumi said. _I killed my mother_. And she’s lying to me about it. 

“Are those demons really coming back for me?” 

“No,” Harumi says quickly. We won’t let that happen. I’m going to keep you safe. Always have. Always will.” 

“Not to offend you, Mother, but you looked like you need my protection last night…Wait a moment. If I was born with powers, why didn’t I use my powers before?” 

Harumi doesn’t answer once more. 

“What are you hiding from me, Harumi?” 

Harumi remains silent for a while but soon reaches into the pocket of her robe.

“Forgive me, but this was not a choice of mine.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“Do you remember Brother Kenji?” 

“I don’t think so. But his name sounds familiar.” 

“You were just a child…” 

* * *

**13 years ago**

_Rachel couldn’t remember the incident. She was only three years old when it happened._

_She was making one of her dolls float in the air when Brother Kenji entered the room. Brother Kenji. A young 29-year-old monk with black shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. He was polite and charismatic. He got along with the kids quite often, particularly Rachel. He would care for her while Harumi wasn’t around. Unlike the rest of the monks, he was patient and kind to her. He taught her to read the alphabet though she still had trouble speaking it._

_But over the next few months, Brother Kenji’s behaviour had become different. He spent most of the time eating in silence when at dinner with the rest of the monks. He kept himself locked away in his room. It wasn’t until the incident, did Harumi realize that the books he read involved occults and demonic rituals. He was becoming obsessed with demons. It was clear, it had to do with Rachel. Harumi had found rough sketches of symbols and demons under his mattress._

_At the time, Rachel couldn’t speak as much, aside from saying ‘Mama’._

_“Come, Rachel,” he said._

_She simply nodded and took Brother Kenji’s hand. He picked her up and headed for the chamber of worlds._

_“Are we going to play?” she asked meekly._

_“Yes, dear. We’re going to play with a very special friend. Now, let’s go. We don’t want to keep him waiting.”_

_When Harumi went to check on Rachel, she was horrified to see she was gone. So, she hurried to fetch the elders._

_Rachel looked around the chamber in amazement. She had never seen so many doors in her entire life. Her innocent mind had distracted her from the horrors she once faced thirteen years ago. Indeed, this was not the first time Rachel stepped into the Chamber of Worlds but she couldn’t recall. Neither did she recall that this would be the last time Brother Kenji would ever stop here again._

_Brother Kenji smiled at Rachel’s sweet innocence face before leading her to the door that almost became her demise. Oh, how innocent and naïve she was. She would have cried at first but he assumed it would go away as soon as she met her father. The bastard who falsely promised him immortality and position as right-hand man._

_Brother Kenji set Rachel down. The child proceeded to stare at him curiously while sucking her thumb as he removed the curtain that kept the door hidden from everyone. Even though it could not be seen by many, most of the monks stayed clear from it for the fear of its dark magic. Brother Kenji held up a small black key to the red door. Rachel blinked. The moment he unlocked the door, Rachel could hear animalistic noises from the other side. When he opened the door, the red portal swirled like a whirlpool._

_Afraid, Rachel tried to run and hide, but was quickly picked up by Brother Kenji._

_“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked with a smile on her face._

_“I don’t want to pway anymore,” she said meekly._

_Brother Kenji’s expression changed. His smile fell, replaced by disappointment and irritation. “Now, now. Don’t be like that. You already said yes. You don’t want to make him sad now, do you?”_

_Tears welled in Rachel’s small eyes and she sniffled. “But I’m scawed.”_

_Brother Kenji wiped her tears with his thumb. “Don’t be scared. I’ll be with you. Every step of the way.”_

_He stepped towards the portal now with a grin on his face. Rachel sniffled and held onto Brother Kenji tightly._

_“Kenji!” Harumi screamed as she stormed into the Chamber of Worlds, followed by the fathers of Azarath. She pointed an accusing finger at him. “Don’t you hurt her!”_

_“Mommy,” Rachel whimpered as she squirmed to get down but Brother Kenji held onto her. At the time, Rachel didn’t know Harumi wasn’t her mother. Since Harumi raised her all of those years, Rachel started growing up to believe she was her mother. Until she was six. However, Harumi would have liked to be her mother._

_“I would never hurt her, Harumi,” he said, “I’m simply taking her home.”_

_“We found your sketches of Scath and Trigon,” Father Yamada said. “They have no place here in Azarath.”_

_“Neither does this child. Yet you have her here,” Brother Kenji said._

_“She is under the protection of Azarath,” Father Torao said. “Meaning you can’t just simply take her away without us fighting back. This is not our way, Brother Kenji. You know that. Either you put the child down and face your sins justly or we will have to take the child by force.”_

_Brother Kenji frowned at them. “Like you did with Angela Roth?” The monks fell silent. “You think I don’t know what you did to her? Almost everyone in Azarath knows. And eventually, Rachel will know too.”_

_“Mommy, I’m scawed,” Rachel said._

_Harumi looked at Rachel worriedly and then at Brother Kenji. “You hear that? She’s frightened. That means you should put her down.”_

_“She won’t be scared once she meets her father.”_

_She gritted her teeth at him angrily. “Put her down, now!”_

_“…No,” Brother Kenji said._

_Harumi stared in shock. She stepped forward in an attempt to grab Rachel from him, but he held out a dagger in front of him. His malicious grin deepened._

_“Unlike you, I was promised immortality and a higher position if the child is delivered. I will not allow you to take that opportunity from me.”_

_“You think Trigon will keep his promise?” Harumi said. “Don’t make me laugh. Trigon is not one to be trifled with. He is a deceiver. A trickster. A liar. He cares for no one but himself. He will not keep his promise. You are just a pawn.”_

_Brother Kenji’s grin fell and his face turned pale. “You’re lying.”_

_“The moment you deliver her to him, he will kill you.”_

_He held the dagger to the level of his eyes, aiming for Rachel’s back._

_“No!” Harumi screamed._

_Before he could get the chance to stab her, Rachel’s eyes turned black. Brother Kenji was suddenly flung to the wall, slamming hard against concrete. Brother Kenji yelled in pain and fell to the floor. Rachel dropped to the floor, immobile and frozen. Harumi rushed to her side and pulled her to her feet. Rachel remained unresponsive._

_“Rachel!” Harumi cried as she shook the child but she did not respond._

_Brother Kenji proceeded to be tossed and dragged to and fro as the chamber was filled with cries of agony. Father Yamada and other two monks rushed to Brother Kenji’s aid, as he was still a monk of Azarath, after all. Father Torao went to Harumi._

_“Tell her to stop,” he said._

_“She’s not responding,” she said._

_Brother Kenji’s body flopped onto the floor. He lifted his head to look at Rachel, blood leaking from his mouth and nostrils. More blood trickled down his temple. His eye and cheek were bruised and swollen. He reached out his trembling hand towards Rachel._

_“Rachel…p-please, stop,” he gurgled weakly._

_A wicked grin splayed on Rachel’s face and he black eyes widened more before snapping her head towards him._

_“ **You wanted to be his right hand live forever?** ” she growled deeply, “ **Only those who are prepared to die will find eternal life**.”_

_With a blood-curdling scream, Brother Kenji, disintegrated into red ash which was then sucked into the red portal. Harumi stared in shock. When she looked back at Rachel, the child had her head hanging back and her eyes closed._

_Harumi shook her slightly. “Rachel. Rachel, wake up.”_

_“We must close the door now!” Father Torao shouted._

_He and the other fathers stood in front of the red portal. As they thrust their hands forwards, they chanted their mantra and their hands glowed white. “Azarath! Metrion! Zinthos!”_

_With the powers of Azarath, they managed to seal the portal before any of the demons could get out._

_The moment this was done, Rachel opened her eyes and looked at Harumi in shock. Her eyes had turned brown once more. “Mommy!” she cried before embracing her tightly. Harumi hugged back and kissed her head, sobbing._

_Father Torao looked over to Harumi, panting in exhaustion. “This can’t go on, Harumi. Something needs to be done.”_

_“That child needs be removed from Azarath,” Father Yamada said._

_“No, we are not removing her from Azarath,” Harumi said, “She’s a child. She needs me. Her place is here, protected by the spirits of Azarath.”_

_“She’s an abomination,” Father Yamada said._

_“You said Azarath welcomes everyone in need,” Harumi snapped at him. “Or was that all a lie?”_

_“She’s right,” Father Torao said. “Azarath welcomes all people in need. But we still must take every precaution as possible. What Rachel Roth did to Brother Kenji can happen to us as well. Her dark magic must be contained…”_

* * *

Rachel still can’t believe this is happening to her. Brother Kenji, a monk whom everyone trusted, tried to kill her as a toddler. And now it turns out she has powers. Every truth crashes down on her like a tidal wave. Yet, they still proceeded to lie to her until this day. 

“…After everything that happened that day, we couldn’t take any more risks.” 

“I don’t understand.” 

“We needed to control the situation so they forced me to give you these,” Harumi says as she takes out a few pills from her pocket. 

“Those are my pills,” Rachel says, frowning in confusion.

“They’re made with special elements that fight against demons. They were also blessed by Azarath herself. We started giving you these after the incident. We thought they would find you because of your power so we used these to keep your powers at bay. From getting out of control.” 

Rachel looks at her with her mouth agape. _Are they serious?_ “You mean you and the elders have been drugging me?” 

Harumi steps towards her but Rachel takes a step back. “It’s not like that at all. It was never our intention to hurt you.” 

“You said they were my medication. For epilepsy. Do I even have epilepsy?” Rachel begins to tremble as anger begins to boil in her body. More lies keep piling up and there’s only so much she can take.

“More or less.”

“What does that suppose to mean?” she asks, her eyes narrowing.

“Whenever your powers try to come out, they somehow pry their way, causing or your body to convulse violently.”

“So, I’m having seizures because you keep my powers locked away?” 

“It would have been better for you to believe that, instead of rebelling from taking them.” 

Raven stays silent as her mind processed what she just heard. Her eyes fill up with tears. _I can’t believe this. They’ve lied to me. They were drugging me. And they’re not even sorry about it? Is it just like what **she** said? _

_“They’ve been lying to you,”_ it had said. 

_“About what?”_

_“Everything you’ve ever known is a lie.”_

_Everything I’ve ever known_ , Rachel thinks back on it now. _What else have they’ve been lying to me about?_

Her lips curl up in a spiteful snarl. “You lied to me…”

“Rachel…” Harumi reaches for Rachel’s hand but she quickly pulls away. 

“You _lied_ to me!” 

“Rachel, please…”

Harumi reaches to hug her. To comfort her. But Rachel shoves her away. 

“Don’t touch me!” she snaps, her eyes turning dark and her voice becoming deep.

Gasping, Harumi takes a step back. Rachel glares at her for a moment. But she soon softens her expression. She looks at her pale hands. They’re rooted with black veins. Rachel sniffles and her lower lip trembles. Her eyes soon return to normal and she looks at Harumi in complete horror. 

“Is this what I’m becoming now?” she says in a trembling tone. “Am I monster to you now?” 

“No, Rachel —” 

“But you’re afraid of me —.” 

“I’m not afraid of you, my dear.” 

“If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have been drugging me all of these years.” 

“I’m afraid _for_ you. You need to understand. I was only trying to protect you —”

“Protect me? By lying to me? How is that protecting me?” 

“If I didn’t do as instructed, they would have sent you away. They would have sent you to an orphanage or kept you locked away like an animal.” 

Tears threaten to leave her eyes but Rachel quickly wipes them away. “Am I really that dangerous?” 

“No, but…it’s possible that your powers might be.” 

“…Maybe they’re right. Maybe I should be sent away.” 

Rachel storms away. 

Harumi calls out to her but is ignored. Rachel continues her way back to her room, not looking back. After she leaves, Harumi sits down on the grass and places her hands to her face, sobbing. Now that the elders have a reason to get rid of Rachel, she doesn’t know what else to do. 

* * *

**Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan**

15-year-old Ibn Al-Ghul looks out the window at the bus drives through the streets of Kabul. He watches the newly constructed buildings and ancient mosques. It had been years since he had come to Kabul with his mother and grandfather. Now, he will be making a journey by himself. He will miss his land, despite its imperfections. Of course, who says any country is perfect. Still, he much rather stay here than going to one of the most dangerous cities in America. But he must do this. For he must confront the very thing his mother kept hidden from him for years. 

Ibn leans his head back against the bus’s black leather seat and sighs. His stomach turns as the bus proceeds to take every bump and sway slightly. It had been years since he rode a bus. And now he remembers how much he hated it. It makes him nauseous. _Don’t throw up, don’t throw up_.

By the time the bus finally stops in front of the airport, Ibn already feels light-headed and discomfort creeps up his throat. But at least he finally arrived. And miraculously, without vomiting on the way. He pulls up the hood of his red jacket before grabbing his green duffle bag and getting up from his seat. His legs feel slightly numb but not enough to immobilize him. 

He gives the bus driver two hundred afghanis. “Thank you.” 

The bus driver, a bald man with a moustache, smiles and takes the money before bowing his head. “No, thank you. Enjoy your trip, young man.” 

Ibn bows as well and climbs out of the bus. He assumes this man is not aware of who he or his family are. Perhaps he has never seen them. But it doesn’t matter now. The fewer people know about Ibn at the moment, the better. One day, the world will know the name of Ibn Al-Ghul. 

He looks up at the clear blue skies. A plane flies loudly overhead but he doesn’t flinch. He has seen planes fly over Nanda Parbat. He was frightened at first when he was a toddler, believing they were monsters. But over time, that fear withered away. 

People walk in and out of the airport. Many of them are either tourists, locals or soldiers from the military. Some speak English or Arabic. Others speak in French, Swahili or Hebrew. He understands most of their language since his grandfather teaches him most of those languages. Ibn frowns at a group of American tourists who keep trying to get one of the local taxi drivers to understand them. They seem to be the typical tourists that would have sunglasses, straw hats and sunscreens on their noses. They’re being loud and obnoxious, bringing the attention of a few passersby. A small boy, who looks about three years old with blonde hair and big green eyes, squeals with a red twisted face while his mother tries to calm him down by giving him sweets. 

_He needs discipline. Clearly a nuisance to them_. If it had been Ibn screaming at his grandfather, he would have been smacked in the mouth. 

Ibn rolls his eyes and continues his way to the airport. 

He sits at the waiting area near the gate to the plane that would get him where he needs to go. He bought a newly published book from the gift shop called _The Story of Zahra_ by Hanan al-Shaykhand spends an hour reading it. There was only one copy so he decided to have it before anyone else could. It’s about a young woman named Zahra, whose mother uses her as a cover for her meetings with a lover; Zahra's strict father mistreats her for being an accomplice in her mother’s affair. Fleeing from Beirut in search of solace, Zahra stays with her uncle in West Africa—and then uses marriage as another kind of escape. This utilizes the Lebanese Civil War as a setting for the story. To Ibn, it’s not a terrible read. It’s quite good, actually. Beautifully written though the subject matter is quite heavy, especially in its explicit sexual content. Perhaps it’s the reason why there aren’t many copies on the shelves. Many aren’t too comfortable with stories that discuss sexuality. Ibn simply finds it indifferent. Only necessary for reproduction purposes and nothing more, or so he would think. Al-Shaykh’s writing reminds him of Lebanese writer Layla Balabakki who caused a political uproar and was brought to trial for her explicit stories that were seen as obscene by many. Apparently, she’s a danger to public morality. However, Ra’s seems to admire Balabakki’s boldness as he keeps a few copies of her books while others have been confiscated from bookstores. It wouldn’t surprise Ibn if _The Story of Zahra_ would get censored and banned as well. Hopefully, it won’t. 

“The plane to London, England will be leaving in twenty minutes,” a woman speaks through the speakers. “Passengers heading for New Jersey, please come forward to take your seats with Wayne Airlines.” 

Ibn looks up at the mention of ‘Wayne’ and ‘England’. Ah yes. Ibn almost forgot that his flight to Gotham would be scaled. First, his plane would arrive in England and then the next one to New Jersey.

Since he has never taken a plane before, he’s actually quite nervous. He was already afraid of vomiting on the bus. Imagine what might happen to him while on a plane. No, he can’t turn back now. _Fear is for the weak_ , his grandfather would always say. _An Al-Ghul must always be strong in the face of danger_. 

Gathering his courage, Ibn stuffs the book into his duffle bag, takes out his passport and heads for the gate to Wayne Airlines. His expression is stoic but his eyes are cold upon seeing the plane from the window. He’ll try to resist the urge of taking it apart from the inside. He needs to stay calm until it’s finally time. 

“Excuse me, young man.” 

Ibn returns from his thoughts and looks at the stewardess in blue uniform and her coarse dark hair tied back in a tight bun. 

“Passport, please?” she says. 

Nodding, Ibn silently gives her his passport which he fabricated a few weeks earlier before coming here. He used his own photo, of course. He’s not foolish enough to use a fake picture. But he needs a fake name and fake information in order to keep his grandfather and his associates from hunting him down. It will be bad for him if his grandfather finds him. It will be worse if Ra’s sends Wilson to fetch him. 

“Are you not a little young to be travelling alone?” she asks as she inspects his passport. 

“I have family waiting for me in New Jersey,” he explains. It’s not a lie. He _does_ have family in New Jersey. Though, they don’t know of his existence. 

He hopes the fake passport charade won’t backfire on him since he made it look as genuine as possible and had hacked into the airport’s system to make it look like his fake persona existed. After a while of inspecting it, the stewardess punches the passport with a stamp and gives it back to Ibn. 

“Travel safely,” she says. “I like that name, by the way. Damian.” 

Ibn doesn’t smile at her compliment but nods in agreement. “Thank you. Mother thinks so as well.” 

The stewardess smiles politely. Ibn can tell it’s a fake smile. Stewardesses are obligated to smile and be polite to passengers, no matter how rude they get. 

“Enjoy your flight,” she says.

‘Damian’ bows his head gratefully and walks down the tunnel to the plane that will lead him to his fate. He’s certain he won’t enjoy his travel. But it’s a necessary journey. He needs to meet his father. 

After getting onto the plane, he sits by the window next to the left wing and reclines his head back against the seat, sighing deeply. He looks out to the plane wing. A brown-necked raven lands on the wings caws silently. Of course, it’s the window glass that removes the sound of the outside. However, Damian frowns and squints his emerald green eyes when noticing something strange about the raven bird. It has four red eyes. It could be a mutation. But yet again, he knows no bird that possesses four red eyes.

Someone moves behind him from the window’s reflection. When his eyes focus on the window, he sees the reflection of a girl with black hair and black eyes staring at him. He does not gasp or scream. Yet, still shocked by her sudden appearance, Damian turns around, only to find no one behind him. His eyes widen. _What the hell?_

Looking back at the window, he finds the girl and the raven gone. His heart races slightly as he tries to process what he just saw, whether it was real or not. If only he can take it as a warning. For that’s exactly what it is. 

* * *

**Thank you all for reading. Please leave a comment on what you think of this chapter and I will posting another chapter very soon.**


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